Angel: The rebirth of Samantha Shepard
by 7hrill
Summary: FemShep/Miranda; Colonist/Adept/Paragon Samantha Shepard falls for the enemy then converts her, concentrating on social interaction between battles, but including action sequences where appropriate. Can the girl save the world and get the girl, or is she destined for martyrdom. Writing attempt from a beginner. Criticism welcome. Chapters between 2500 to 4500 words.
1. Chapter 1

Angel

By: 7hrill72

Samantha Shepard - Adept - Paragon with a little renegade - Colonist - Sole survivor - redhead with green eyes, long hair - no romance during ME1

Starting after the end of ME1. PS3 owner, so I don't have enough ME1 background to include it in the story. Some AU changes because I like to manipulate the dialog a bit. No intended plot changes, though I might change stuff at the end of ME3, assuming I get that far. Rated M for language and eventual Miranda/Shepard(F) femslash.

Bioware owns the rights to all characters within.

Chapter 1

Samantha leaned back against Liara, clearing her mind. They were in Liara's area near medical. Saren had killed himself and they had just destroyed Sovereign. She was proud of her team's accomplishments, but still couldn't keep away the memories. All those she failed to save. Her family; taken by slavers. Her squad in Akuze; completely destroyed. Dear, dear Ashley; sacrificed herself for Kaiden. Nightmares of the incidents woke her up almost every night, unless someone else was with her. If she was allowed time to dwell, memories and images assaulted her during the day.

Liara rubbed her shoulders, attempting to soothe her troubled commander. Sam's shoulder length hair brushed against her hands. Through her mind meld Liara had felt the spirits that hounded Samantha, and she tried to help the best she could. Liara could see the momentary tightening of Samantha's jaw when something distressing flashed across her mind. During a mission Samantha was decisive, focused, and invincible. Down time was trouble. Physical closeness calmed Sam when awake, and seemed almost mandatory to keep the nightmares away during sleep.

Liara enjoyed these moments. The asari weren't nearly as prude about physical contact as humans, and Liara was happy Samantha didn't consider it inherently sexual, like most of her race. Liara was sure there were rumors flying about the two of them among the crew. Though it was none of their business, Shepard and Liara didn't love each other. Shepard's inclination was towards stronger women. Shepard had a crush on Ashley at one time, but that didn't matter anymore.

"Arriving at target in ten minutes, Commander" Joker announced.

"Urggg" Samantha groaned while getting up. "Time to search another empty system."

"You'll find something soon." Liara said.

"I hope so, all this nothing is driving me crazy." Sam said dejectedly.

Liara helped straighten her uniform and sent her out.

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"Brace for evasive maneuvers!" Joker announced over the P.A.

Liara jerked up and ran towards her suit, hoping Shepard could find hers in the chaos.

She found Shepard putting on the last of her armor.

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Garrus, with his military training, recognized the alert first. Shepard, Liara, and Kaiden could handle themselves. Garrus headed towards Engineering. Sliding down the nearest maintenance ladder he headed towards Tali's station.

Tali was sorting through an engine calibration program with a drive sensor conflict. She ignored the alerts, sure it was some type of drill. She shifted the sensor array to get a better angle.

"Tali!" Garrus interrupted her. He knew she would be wrapped up in her work. "We need to go! The Normandy is under attack!". Garrus grabbed Tali's arm and pulled her away from her console.

"Wha..." Tali stammered, then recognized the desperation in his eyes.

Just then a huge blast rocked the Normandy, knocking them to the ground. Then they heard the call to abandon ship.

"We're going!" Garrus dragged her to the nearest escape pod and shoved her in, sliding in after her. The rest of the engineering staff followed suit.

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Up on the crew level, fires were everywhere, and there were several hull sections missing.

"Joker's still in the cockpit. He won't abandon ship, and I'm not leaving either." Liara told Shepard.

"I need you to get the crew onto the evac shuttles. I'll take care of Joker."

"Commander..." Liara pleaded.

"Liara. Go. Now.". Shepard commanded.

"Aye, Aye" Liara took off to the nearest escape pod.

Sam ran back upstairs towards the cockpit. The Normandy was in bad shape. The entire upper fuselage was missing, forcing her to take it slow. When she got to the cockpit, Joker was still furiously trying to steer the doomed vessel, though she didn't think his commands were reaching the engines any more.

"Come on Joker, we have to get out of here."

"No, I won't abandon the Normandy. I can still save her".

"The Normandy is going down, with or without you. Nothing you do will change that". Shepard started to physically pull him out of the seat. Suddenly a blast tore apart the Normandy.

Shepard tossed Joker into the evac shuttle. Another blast and she's hurled away from the hatch. She does manage to hit the shuttle release for Joker before drifting out into space. Too bad she bounced off a bulkhead on the way out and breached her suit...

As Samantha listened to her air leaking out, struggling futilely until oxygen deprivation kicked in, she thought about her squad; her friends. Hopefully they made it out ok. Her thoughts drifted to Ashley and her parents when the darkness closed in.

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Joker dreaded his next move. Various calls were going out between the evac shuttles across their comm links, and he needed to give the bad news. Garrus was trying to get a personnel count. He and Tali were in a shuttle with the rest of the engineering group. Liara was in a shuttle with what was left of the crew level. Dr. Chakwas was in a shuttle with Wrex and Kaiden.

"Did Joker do something stupid like go down with the ship? And where the hell is Shepard?". Garrus was getting more insistent.

_Aw hell_. "Joker here. Shepard threw me in a pod and then...". _Can't finish. Damnit, it's my fault. Have to finish._ "...then hit the eject when she was thrown towards the other side of the ship. The ship broke up right after my evac shuttle released.". The line was silent for too long, then the faint sound of crying could be heard from several sources.

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"...aware of outside stimulae."

"God Miranda, I think she's waking up!" Some unknown person was talking.

"Damn it Wilson, give her the sedative. She's not ready". Some other person responded. They were talking about Shepard. She lifted her arm, but it didn't look right. The skin was a weird color.

_Now I'm seriously weirded out._ The last thing she remembered was floating through space.

"Shepard, don't try to move, and try to stay calm". A very pretty brunette came into view and pulled her arm back out of view.

_Oh, she's a pretty one. If only I weren't dead. Wait, am I dead? Is this heaven? She does look like an angel. Though I was under the impression there would be more harps and halos._

_Oops, what are they saying? Something about heart rate. Hard to pay attention. Getting really tired again. Must be sedative. Angel looks down at me again. Oh my..._ Everything went black again.

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"Shepard do you hear me? Get out of that bed now. This facility is under attack!".

_They're talking to me. Hmmm. My face hurts. My head hurts._

An explosion rocks the room. _Time to get up. Ouch. My side hurts._ Shepard winces and rolls off the bed.

"Shepard, your scars aren't healed, but I need you to get moving. This facility is under attack." _Pretty voice. Forceful. Seems familiar._

The faceless voice guides her to a gun, though it's pretty useless without a clip. There are a couple canisters by the entrance that are about to explode, so she hides behind a couple crates to wait for the bang. The voice mentions something about a clip nearby, but she's already moving. Shepard grabs the clip off the floor, loads the pistol, and takes out the mech in the next room. Easy after all she's been through. Not that she's not feeling pain, the scars are not pleasant. She proceeded forward grabbing ammo where available. The voice is attempting to give her directions, but Shepard knows what she's doing.

Another set of doors and out onto a landing. _Oooh, grenade launcher._ Shepard gives a little shiver in delight. One shot takes out a group of mechs, and apparently punches a hole in a nearby compressed gas canister. _Bad job Sam, need to pay attention to your surroundings. You're better than that._ She runs through the resulting 'wall o flame' and around a few corners.

"You're doing great Shepard, head to the...". Static cuts her off. Shepard guessed she's on her own now.

She finds an open room and takes a look around. Couple mechs are crawling across the floor for some unknown reason, and subsequently explode. She peruses a vid about the "Shepard" project, apparently code-named "Lazarus", with Angel in charge, whose name she now realizes is Miranda_. It costs a lot to bring someone back from the dead._

Through another set of doors and Shepard finds another human, currently involved in a battle with more mechs. He seems very surprised to see her.

"What the hell?! I thought you were still a work in progress!" he exclaims. Evidently Shepard's not supposed to be up and about just yet.

"I just woke up, are you with Miranda?". After some quick questions, they realize they're not going to be able to talk until they get rid of the mechs. "Time to do what I do best."

Quick warp and some pistol shots, and they're in good shape.

His name is Jacob, and apparently it took them two years to bring her back.

"I've been gone for two years? Where's the rest of my crew?" Shepard was astonished.

Luckily most of the crew survived. Shepard wonders what they're up to. She'll miss Pressley, and makes a mental note to look up the rest.

"Check, check, anyone on this frequency? Anyone still alive out there? Hello?" That voice sounded familiar.

"Wilson. This is Jacob. Commander Shepard is here. We just took out a wave of mechs over in D wing."

"Shepard's alive? How the hell...never mind. You need to get her out of there. Head through the service tunnels to the network control center.". Wilson didn't seem too enthused about Shepard's current vertical status.

A few hallways and they found Wilson sniveling with a hurt leg. Shepard applied a medi-gel out of pity, but her opinion of Wilson was not rising. She'd give him more slack if he was part of her crew, but she doubts he'd make it as part of her crew. Maybe he just had too much medical training, too little real life training.

Luckily he does have some skills, soon afterward he overloads some flammable crates to destroy a few mechs. A few more mechs down and they've reached the door to the shuttles.

Wilson opens the door. Only to find Angel waiting.

"Miranda? But you were...". Wilson looked a bit shocked.

"Dead?". She shots him right between the eyes.

"Whoa, Angel! Now you can't interrogate him". Slightly disturbing, but Shepard's impressed at her moxy.

"Shepard, I am Miranda. Wilson betrayed us". She wasn't impressed at her new nick-name. "We need to get you out of here."

"I've had enough of this station to last a lifetime.". Shepard is ready to go.

"Or in your case, two.". And throws Shepard a smile. _Yep, still beautiful_. Shepard thought to herself. _Nice smile too. It's a shame she works for Cerberus._

On the shuttle ride to see the Illusive Man(TIM), Miranda quizzed Shepard about her past. A dangerous proposition at best. _Really?_ Shepard thought. _A question about the fifty soldiers I got killed?_

"Acuze sucked. Thanks for reminding me. I watched my entire squad get wiped out.". She spits.

_Now a question about Virmire, really picking the most painful points in my entire life._ Shepard thinks.

"I had to make a choice, which I still question today. I didn't do it lightly, and I wish I could have Williams back." _Another wonderful nightmare._ "This discussion is over." Jacob seems fine with the analysis, but Miranda doesn't seem convinced.

"We'll have to hope our field test is sufficient for the Illusive Man."

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Miranda was concerned about working with Shepard. She seemed sufficiently restored to her former self, but also acted like a loose cannon, and very anti Cerberus. This might be more difficult than she thought. Time to review the psych reports she acquired from the Alliance.

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Shepard thought the meeting with TIM went about as well as could be expected. The guy is an asshole, and her history with Cerberus shows what atrocities he was willing to commit to further his cause. Sam wasn't going to trust him, and she'd have to keep an eye on Jacob and Miranda as well. Not that keeping an eye on Miranda would be unpleasant. Off to Freedom's Progress to assess the situation.

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They find the place crawling with hostile mechs, though they're not hard to kill. It's a little boring until they run into several quarians, who jump up and point their guns at them.

"Stop right there!". One of them yelled at the team.

"Prazza! You said you'd let me handle this!"

_Holy shit!_ Shepard almost says out loud. _It's Tali!_ She's tempted to run up and hug her, but there's too many guns pointed at her for her comfort. Tali's apparently involved in a power struggle with this Prazza fellow.

"I'm not taking any chances with Cerberus operatives.". Prazza says, though Shepard wouldn't disagree under most circumstances. She'd prefer a chance to prove her non-Cerberus leanings without getting shot.

"Shepard, is that? You're alive?". Tali finally recognized her.

"Cerberus rebuilt me, Tali. In return, they asked me to investigate these attacks on human colonies.". Shepard switched to diplomacy mode, realizing Tali's position. She put her gun away, and motioned for the others to do the same. She could easily throw them all into a wall if needed.

"You'll forgive us for not taking you at your word, Cerberus.". Prazza was starting to annoy Shepard. Her team was obviously not shooting at them.

Miranda decided to chime in. "We're well within our rights to investigate an attack on a human colony. I'd like to know what the quarians are doing here."

"Weapons down, Prazza. Whatever's going on here. I don't think we need another fight.". Tali attempted to diffuse the situation. "One of our people was here on pilgrimage. His name is Veetor. We came to find him."

Veetor was nervous in crowds and likely suffering from an infection, so he programmed the mechs to kill on sight. The teams decided to split up and search for him together.

Shepard and her squad take down a few drones, then Tali puts out a desperate call: "Shepard! Prazza and his squad rushed on ahead. I told them to wait, but they wouldn't listen."

_Great_. Shepard thought. _Nothing like a male with a dented ego to screw things up._

"We should have expected this". Miranda either berating herself for not anticipating the issue, or trying to give Shepard a hint. Shepard didn't know her well enough to be sure.

"We should be able to catch them". Jacob adds.

Shepard's team takes out a couple more mechs and Tali gives another update: "Hurry Shepard, we're inside the loading dock. Veetor reprogrammed a heavy mech! It's tearing Prazza's squad apart!"

"They did want to get to Veetor first". Miranda says while heading to the side of the loading door.

_Nice one Angel, though not very nice. _ Shepard gave her back a quick smile.

Tali let them through the big security door just in time to see Prazza and his squad obliterated. Time for action.

"Miranda! Overload the shield and I'll take care of the rest!" Shepard took command.

She circles a stack of crates to keep it confused between warps and pistol shots. She wished she had a shotgun. Miranda blasts it once more and it's all done.

"Get to cover!". Shepard warns before diving behind a crate. The mech blows up, rocking the area. Shepard does a quick check to make sure everyone is uninjured. All in all, not too difficult. Miranda and Jacob are quite competent. "Good job." Shepard is pleased with their abilities.

Tali is playing nurse to the leftovers of Prazza's crew, so they head to the back of the loading area to look for Veetor.

Shepard enters a cube to find a quarian at a bank of monitors. "Monsters are coming. Mechs will protect. Safe from swarms. Have to hide. No monsters. No swarms. No-no-no-no-no.". _Veetor has gone around the bend._ He's going through some kind of data. He should have noticed their team take out all of his mechs on the surveillance feed, but doesn't turn around to address them..

"Veetor?". Shepard tries to get his attention.

"No Veetor. Not here. Swarms can't find. Monsters coming. Have to hide".

_Maybe I can get through to him._ "Nobody's going to hurt you any more, Veetor."

"I don't think he can hear you, Commander.". Jacob adds.

_Time to wake him up._ Shepard hacks the video feed and blanks out all the monitors. Veetor finally notices the team. He is obviously confused and scared.

After some questions Veetor is cogent enough to show video footage of the attack. Some race called the collectors uses swarms of insects to immobilize the populace and then packs them into containers, which they load onto their ship. _Looks like we found our enemy. No idea if they are connected to the reapers._

"We need to get this data to the Illusive Man. Grab the quarian and call the shuttle to come pick us up.". Miranda trying to take over the situation. Shepard turns to address her but gets interrupted.

Tali walked in at that moment. Not the best moment for Cerberus/alien relations...

"What! Veetor needs treatment, not an interrogation.". Tali was obviously not pleased with Shepard's current companions, and her by relation.

Jacob tries to smooth things over, but Tali is having none of it. Miranda pours salt on the wound by suggesting somehow that Cerberus has a lower rate of betrayal than the quarians. _Not quite Angel._ Shepard has to fix this.

"Veetor goes with Tali. He's traumatized, and needs medical attention. Tali will give us his omni-tool data and take him to the flotilla."

"Understood, Commander.". At least Miranda will follow orders, even when she doesn't necessarily agree.

"Thank you, Shepard. I'm glad to hear you're still the one giving the orders.". Tali gave her a nod. Shepard imagines a smile behind the mask.

Shepard tries to convince her to join the Normandy, but Tali doesn't want to abandon her current mission. Not to mention, she's still nervous about the whole Cerberus/brought back to life thing. Shepard will miss her, but doesn't really blame her. They head back to the base.

The Illusive man proves himself to be an asshole, again, but he's given Shepard free rein on this mission. She's sure he has some ulterior motive, but she'll deal with that later. Time to assemble the squad. Tali is busy. Liara is unknown. Garrus is unknown. Kaiden is unknown, though likely with the Alliance somewhere. Wrex is busy with the krogan clans.

Shepard decides to look over the profiles. TIM also mentioned a pilot...

"Hey commander. Just like old times, eh?". _Joker!_

"I can't believe it's you Joker.". Shepard gave him a smile.

"Look who's talking. I saw you get spaced.". A twinge of guilt crossed his face, but he quickly recovered to standard Joker.

Joker joined Cerberus because the Alliance took away the only thing he really loved, flying. They also swept the entire reaper threat under the rug. The Alliance would be impressive if they didn't constantly shoot themselves in the foot.

"The Alliance took away the only thing that mattered to me. Hell yea, I joined Cerberus.". Shepard wondered why the Alliance would ground a pilot with Joker's skill.

"Do you really trust the Illusive Man?". Shepard tries to gauge his loyalty.

"I don't trust anyone who makes more than I do, but they're not all bad. Saved your life. Let me fly... And there's this."

Shepard's spirit soars. _A new ship! Looks just like the Normandy, except the tacky Cerberus paint job._

"I guess we'll need to give her a name." As if there was any question.


	2. Chapter 2

Angel

Chapter 2

Bioware owns the rights to all characters within.

Samantha strolled onto the new Normandy. The layout was mostly the same, though everything seemed less spartan.

"Welcome aboard the new Normandy, Commander." Jacob said.

"I've been looking over the dossiers. I'd strongly recommend starting by acquiring Mordin Solus, the salarian professor on Omega. We know the collectors use some type of advanced technology to immobilize their victims. We'll need him to develop a countermeasure to protect us." Shepard resists the urge to snap back at her, mostly because she is correct.

"Thank you Angel. I agree." Little flinch from Miranda, but she's cut off from responding.

"Acquiring Professor Solis seems like the most logical place to start." _Now the ship is talking to me? This doesn't sound like a standard VI._

"Who are you?" Shepard demanded.

"I am the Normandy's artificial intelligence. The crew likes to refer to me as EDI." _An AI? This could be trouble._

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Shepard gets settled into her very nice cabin and removes the Cerberus colors from her armor. _Looking good for a dead woman, though the scars need to go. _She then decides to take a tour of the ship.

Right out of the elevator she meets the ship's yeoman and her personal assistant, Kelly Chambers, who is more than meets the eye, having an extensive psychology background. Shepard resolves to avoid her, psych sessions never help. She seems amenable to a more than professional relationship, but she's a little bubbly for her personal taste. _I wish Liara was here._

The tech lab is closed, having no lab technician to staff it. _Cerberus got cheap for this one part if the ship?_ She really does need the Professor.

Jacob is in the weapons hold, and doesn't seem nearly as gung ho for Cerberus as Miranda. _I wonder why he left the Alliance. _It's nice to have someone share her views, especially the person taking care of her guns.

Joker's as pleased as can be, going on a little too long about the pilot seat. Though he does spend an awful lot of time in that seat, maybe Samantha would think differently were she in his position.

Samantha meets a couple engineers down on the tech level. They seem competent, though Sam really wishes she had a tech expert like Tali around. Hopefully they aren't as anti-alien as most of the Cerberus troops she's 'met' in the past.

Heading back up to the crew deck she finds a familiar face in the medical center.

"Dr. Chakwas! It's great to see you here! Surely you didn't switch to Cerberus for me?"

"No, though it is very nice to see you alive and in one piece. Off to save the world again? Think you can visit me with fewer devastating injuries this time? You have enough scars already, though they're different from when I last saw you."

"I'll do my best doc, but you know how it is." _Better me than anyone else._

"Just so you know, Kelly Chambers, the yeoman, is a licensed psychologist. You should talk to her if your depression returns. I also have sleep medications I can prescribe." Doc knew a bit more than Sam liked.

"Kelly already apprised me with that information, and you know how I feel about those medications. They adversely affect my biotics. Thanks for your concern." Shepard had to scram before she started giving her a check-up. _I wonder what the doc thinks about my glowing scars._

Sam avoided the XOs office. Miranda's pro-Cerberus stance was annoying. Maybe she'd be able to bring Miranda around to her way of thinking eventually, but for now it wasn't looking good.

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Miranda was looking through the most recent Shepard psych analysis, but they weren't helping much. Miranda wasn't sure about the unbiased nature of the report. Shepard seemed to affect anyone who came in contact with her, including her Alliance psychologist. The analysis hinted at emotional trauma over lost comrades, but Shepard resisted all psychoanalysis. None of it affected her ability to lead or fight unless she suffered from sleep deprivation. The issue seemed solved soon after Dr. T'soni joined the crew. _I wonder if they had a relationship of some kind._

Shepard was close with most of her old squad, but had no recorded personal relationship with any of them. Miranda even read an absurd report about a confrontation between Kaidan Alenko and Shepard. Kaidan tried to force Shepard to chose between him and Dr. T'soni. Shepard had stated in front of both that she was interested in neither romantically. Since Dr. T'soni didn't take issue with the statement, it was assumed to be true. That might have changed, later records indicate they spent a lot of time together. The Illusive Man had stated that Dr. T'soni would not be allowed to join the crew, and the contract for Shepard's body had included very specific details to that end. Miranda would have to keep an eye on Shepard's sleep patterns.

Personally Shepard was starting to irritate Miranda. She undermined Miranda whenever she could, and her insistence in calling her 'Angel' was annoying. _I am second in command, nicknames are inappropriate. _It was possible Shepard was using her as a surrogate target for abuse since she couldn't attack Cerberus or the Illusive Man directly; Shepard's thoughts on Cerberus were well documented. Miranda couldn't blame her for that. Miranda owed her loyalty for the Illusive Man's assistance with her father and sister, not through any humanity first bias.

EDI announced, "Miranda, the Commander requests your assistance to retrieve the Professor, please meet her in the loading bay." She wondered why Shepard hadn't called her directly.

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Sam thought the retrieval of Mordin Solus went surprisingly well, considering they had two biotics and a sentinel. Curing the plague was a nice bonus. It felt good to do something nice, even when the relieved victims would never thank her.

Samantha looked over her new pistol with glee, it had done better than expected against the tough hides of the krogan. Now to talk to Mordin about the upgrades purchased on Omega. She showed him to the tech lab. The Professor spoke a few foreign sounding terms to the locked door of the tech lab and it opened with ease. _I guess the lab was just waiting for someone worthy of using it_. Mordin's rapid fire responses were refreshing, though a little hard to follow some times. He jumped onto the collector swarm issue right after showing Sam how to use the upgrade machine.

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Shepard took Mordin and Miranda to collect Archangel. Jacob had too much overlap with her skills. After some disdainful interaction with mercs they decided to tilt the scale slightly in their favor. Mordin hacked a large mech to attack anything in sight, and Shepard took care of a Batarian who was repairing the gunship.

It was time to head across the bridge to Archangel. The team was behind the rest of the freelancers, so they started shooting once they were a comfortable distance ahead of the mercenary groups. The freelancers didn't last long. Crappy armor and worse aim don't do much for your survival rate. When they reached Archangel he was removing his helmet.

"Archangel?"

"Shepard. Long time, no see." Archangel said, and turned around.

"Garrus! It's great to see you, you old dinosaur. How are you doing?." Shepard was elated.

"I'm doing better, now that you're here. Been doing target practice on these mercs, but they've just about worn me out." Garrus looked a little tired.

"We'll help you out. Do you have a plan?"

"That bridge is both a savior and a curse. It's been funneling the mercs to me very nicely, but it's also the only exit." Bottleneck from each direction.

"I guess we'll have to take them all out. Garrus, you take care of them from here. Team, we're going to hold the stairs."

Two rounds of mercs, some very large back doors, and a pissed off krogan later, and they were staring down the barrel of a gunship. It surprised Garrus while Shepard and company took out some mercs at the back stair. He took the full blast from a rocket and was flung to the ground. Shepard raced back to Garrus when she heard the blast.

"Not you too, Garrus." _Damn, not enough time to apply first aid. _ They had to take care of the ship first, which was still dropping off mercs.

Luckily Miranda and Mordin stepped up their game. The mercs didn't last long at all. Then it was just a matter of staying hidden and wearing down the gunship.

"Garrus!." _I can't lose any more._ Shepard ran back to Garrus as the gunship went down, pulling out a medi-gel on the way. She applied it to his worst looking wound. He didn't look good. The medi-gel started to take hold, then Garrus took a breath. Shepard breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hold on Garrus, we're getting you out of here. Call Joker, Mordin, make sure they're ready. Miranda, get his legs."

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"We've done as much as we can for him, but his injuries are pretty severe." Jacob had just come back from medical with Garrus' condition. It looked like he'll live, though he might be out of commission for a while. Shepard was about to head that way when Garrus walked through the door!

"Tough bastard." Jacob said.

_Understatement of the year, Jacob. _Shepard grinned at Garrus.

"Thought he'd be out of it for a while." Jacob finished.

"Shepard. No one will show me a mirror. How bad is it?" Garrus asked.

"Hell Garrus, you've always been ugly. Slap some face paint on there and no one will notice." Shepard gave a wide smile.

"Ha, ah." Garrus winced. "Don't make me laugh. My face is barely holding together as is. Either way, I'm ready for duty whenever you need me."

"I'm glad you're here, Garrus. It's good to see a friendly face." _It's good to see someone I know won't stab me in the back._

"It's good to see you too, Shepard. I'll be down in ballistics to see if I can eek some more power into the guns."

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_"Ashley! Get your ass back here! That is an order!"_

_"Kaidan is more important to the mission. Leave me."_

_Ashley Williams shut off her comm link and sat down. She checked for more clips for the fourth time, then put her assault rifle on the ground._

_Shepard watched all this, unable to move. Inside she was screaming at Ashley, but the soldier didn't respond._

_"No Ashley! Please get up!"_

_Ashley checked her watch, then noticed blood seeping through cracks in her armor. Apparently she'd been grazed somewhere. No matter now._

_She sat back against a crate and took off her helmet._

_"Good luck Commander."_

_"No Ashley!." Then the inferno began._

Sam jerked awake. Sweaty and cold. Nightmare, one of several her sub conscience had to choose from.

"Ashley..." _I wish I'd told you something._

She got up and held her head in her hands. "Not this again." She thought. She shook her head and got up. She'd only slept for a few hours. She pulled off her nightshirt, then put on her casual attire.

Sam headed down to the crew level and got some hot chocolate. She was tempted to head to the lounge for a stiff drink, but the rest of the crew would be awake in a few hours. It wouldn't do to be seen drinking in the morning.

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Miranda was awakened by EDI. She was to be alerted if Shepard was not asleep during her normal sleep cycle. Checking surveillance she saw Shepard seated close to her office, drinking something out of a mug.

Miranda had been intrigued by the contrast between Shepard's concern for her friend's well being and her own safety(or lack thereof). It was unusual in anyone who made it this high in rank. Usually by this point in the selfless soldier's life cycle, they drifted into self preservation or were dead. _Which is exactly what happened to Shepard._ The genuine concern for Garrus after they took out the gunship was touching. Miranda could see how Shepard inspired her crew. She suspected it was a contributing factor in Shepard's sleep difficulties. Shepard probably thought she could have done something to save every person she'd lost, if only she tried harder, or traded places.

Miranda zipped up her uni-suit and left her room.

"Morning Shepard. Sleep well?." Miranda had to be careful she didn't mention anything out of the psych reports. Shepard would likely see it as a breach of trust. She noticed Shepard's mug was empty. "What are you having?" She reached towards the mug. Shepard allowed her to take it from her, though Miranda could tell there was some hesitation.

"Hot chocolate. There's a stash in the cabinet at the end." Shepard's red hair was still messed from sleep, and her green eyes we're red rimmed.

"No coffee for you?" Miranda took the mug over to the counter. She could feel Shepard's eyes upon her as she walked away. She stirred the hot water and mix together, then glanced back at Shepard. Shepard quickly averted her gaze when Miranda looked. _I usually get that from men, not women. Maybe there had been something between Shepard and the asari, Liara T'soni. Not that it matters to me, personal relationships interfere with missions._ She took Shepard the hot cocoa.

Miranda returned to the counter and made herself some green tea, procured from earth at great expense.

When she returned to Shepard's table the questions began.

"Tell me about yourself, Miranda." She called Miranda by her real name.

"I suppose that's fair. I've spent the last two years learning everything there is to know about you. You should probably know I've had extensive genetic modification." Miranda paused. "Not my decision, but I make the most if it. It's one of the reasons the Illusive Man picked me for this mission. I'm very good at doing just about anything I choose to do."

"What level of genetic engineering are we talking about?." Shepard showed concern?...interest? Miranda couldn't be sure.

"It's very thorough. Physically I'm superior in many ways. I heal quickly and I'll likely live half again as long as the average human. My biotic abilities are also enhanced, for a human. Add to that the best training and education money can buy, and... Well it's pretty impressive really. We considered similar genetic adjustments while we rebuilt you, but held back. We needed you to be as you were, no changes." Shepard cringed a little at the last bit, but made no mention of it.

"Sounds like you were designed to be perfect." Shepard added some inflection to the last word.

"Clearly, but I'm not. I'm still human, Shepard. I still make mistakes like everyone else, and when I do, the consequences are severe. Everyone expects a lot from someone with my abilities."

Shepard sat, drinking her cocoa for a few minutes, then responded.

"So why are you loyal to Cerberus? The operation on Akuze was inexcusable with possible advances only applicable to a hybrid race, not humanity itself. I'm trying to imagine you've been whitewashed with limited access to information, but someone with your skills should be able to sort through the data and find the truth."

Miranda was taken by surprise, not only by the quick change in direction, but also by the swiftness of Shepard's assessment. _I have underestimated her._

"I don't agree with everything Cerberus has done, but I do believe the Illusive Man has humanity's best interest at heart. My loyalty stems from a...personal matter. He helped me when no one else would."

"It's a shame I didn't know you then."

Shepard finished her hot chocolate, then stood up. "Thanks Miranda, we'll talk again later."

After she left Miranda thought about her last comment: _It's a shame I didn't know you then. _There were several ways to interpret it.

00000000

Shepard thought about her discussion with Miranda while she switched into her armor. The comment that her genetic engineering was ."..not my choice" made her wonder. _Sounds like there's a story there. _Miranda's comment about loyalty stemming from a personal matter also made Shepard think better of her. Maybe she wasn't one of those 'humanity first' racists that made up most of the Cerberus group.

Enough pondering, they were off to collect the warlord. Time to get sharp. "Garrus and Miranda, meet me in the loading bay."

00000000

_I go to collect The Warlord, and all I got was this 'krogan in a tank'. Not quite t-shirt material._ Samantha wasn't sure what to think about it. Miranda and EDI both recommended leaving the tank alone, but Shepard couldn't miss the opportunity of a "Pure" krogan. This krogan looks different than the krogan she's seen, but there are several krogan varieties.

"EDI! Open the damn tank!." _Darn AI._ The release clicks and Shepard flips the switch. The tank opens and liquid pours out. The krogan falls forward and coughs out the liquid in its lungs. Then he rises...and slams Shepard up against a bulkhead. _Ouch, it's faster than I thought it would be._ Shepard thinks she hears a rib crack, but it might be her head hitting the wall. Her vision swims a little.

"Human, female. Before you die I need a name." Deep voice. Blunt and to the point. She'd probably smile if she wasn't in so much pain.

"Commander Shepard of the Normandy"

"Not your name, mine. I am trained, I know things, but the Tank...Okeer couldn't implant connection. His words are hollow." He pauses. "Warlord, legacy, grunt...grunt. Grunt was among the last. It has no meaning. It'll do. I am Grunt. If you are worthy of your command, prove your strength and try to destroy me."

"Why do you want me to try to kill you?."

"What? I do what I am meant to...fight and reveal the strongest. Nothing in the tank ever asked me what I want. I feel nothing for Okeer's clan or his enemies. That imprint failed. He has failed. Without a reason that is mine, one fight is as good as any other. Might as well start with you." _This __is__ how krogan choose their leaders._

"I took you. I released you. Follow my command and you will have a purpose." _And more ass to kick than you can possibly imagine..._ Grunt looked closely at her.

"Nothing in the tank imprints indicated humans could be so forceful. You command as if you've earned it."

"I have a strong ship and a strong crew, you'll make it stronger. My enemies threaten galaxies, they are definitely worthy." Shepard was getting tired of hanging against the wall, and her side was aching. Her gun was already in her hand. She slowly shifted it towards a seam in Grunt's armor.

"Hmmm. That's acceptable. I'll fight for you." Shepard just wished he'd let her go at this point.

"I'm glad you saw reason." Shepard shifted her eyes downward.

"Hmmm?." Grunt's eyes shifted down as well, and saw the pistol pressed up against his midsection. "Ha. Offer one hand but arm the other. Wise Shepard, if I find a clan, if I find what I want, I will be honored to eventually pit them against you."

"Good." She said. "I'll let you know when I need you to fight." He lets her go, and Shepard walks out of the storage bay, trying not to limp. She goes straight to the doc's office.

00000000

Miranda was furious. Not only had Shepard opened the tank against her explicit orders, but she had done so without backup. And now she was in medical with cracked ribs, multiple contusions, and a mild concussion.

"Idiot. What the hell were you thinking?." She glared at Shepard while Dr. Chakwas bandaged her chest. The doctor was muttering something under her breath.

"Oh Angel, you're just upset that I damaged your two year project."

Miranda answered, "True, but that's not the only reason."

"You know the krogan will be a valuable addition to the team." Shepard finished.

"Why didn't you ask some of us to come with you? Any of the team would happily have backed you up. And don't call me that, I'm no angel"

"You know the krogan culture. Only a leader willing to stand alone in the face of the opponent would command the respect needed to lead."

"That is correct." EDI chose this moment to chime in.

"Shut up, EDI." Miranda fumed, then stormed out of medical.


	3. Chapter 3

Angel

By 7hrill

Chapter 3

Bioware owns all characters within.

Shepard was mostly healed from her encounter with the tank krogan, Grunt. There was a little pain in her side, but the mission came first. _Time to pick up a convict._ She wasn't sure about this one. TIM hadn't given her any info about what the girl was in for, just that she was a super-biotic.

And now they were trapped in a prison. The warden had apparently decided he could get more for Shepard than Cerberus was paying for Jack. Shepard was very glad they insisted on keeping their weapons. She was also glad she brought Garrus and Grunt on this run. She would need their strength.

They take out the group the warden sent to force them into a cell, then start running towards the maximum security section. A little computer hacking and they find Jack's location. Unfortunately they have to open all cells in the prison block to release her.

_Well, the warden deserves this..._ Shepard releases the entire cell block. Peering down through plate glass to the release area below, she notices several large mechs initiating up.

They watch Jack as she is raised vertically out of her cell. Her head is shaved and she's hardly wearing anything on her torso. Some straps cover the important areas, but the rest is bare. Well, not really bare. _That is_ _the most elaborate collection of tattoos I've seen outside an exhibit._ Then Jack wakes up.

Jack struggles momentarily with her restraints, then rips them apart. The three large mechs focus on her. Then Shepard feels the largest accumulation of biotic power she's ever felt, and it's all over for the mechs. Jack disappears out a new hole in the wall.

"Wow! Let's get her!" Shepard yells as she runs down the stairs to the release area. Garrus and Grunt follow quickly. They jump over the husks of three large mechs and through the hole in the wall. They have to slow down quickly, there are guards and prisoners fighting everywhere.

A few firefights later, and they get to speak directly to the warden.

"You're valuable Shepard, I could sold you and made a fortune off of you!"

_What is it with these guys? Is everyone in the universe a greedy bastard?_

"But you're too much trouble. At least I'll still have Jack after I kill y..." He was cut off by a well placed sniper shot from Garrus. Shepard looked over at him and gave him a smile.

They find Jack fuming in the loading area. She turns around with biotics flaring when she hears their approach.

"You're in a bad situation, and we're here to get you out."

"Shit, you sound like a pussy. I'm not going anywhere with you. You're Cerberus." _Sounds like there's history between Jack and Cerberus. One more thing omitted from the dossier._

"I'm here to ask you for help." Shepard throws an olive branch.

"You show up in a Cerberus frigate to take me away somewhere. Do you think I'm stupid?" Jack spits out the words with venom. _Apparently there's a lot of history._

"This ship is going down in flames. I've got the only way out. I'm asking for your help."

"Just shoot her and patch her up on the ship." Grunt offers.

"I'd like to see you try." Jack isn't amenable to the idea.

"We're not going to attack her." Shepard lets her know the situation.

"Good." Jack was finally being reasonable. "Look, you want me to come with you. Make it worth my while."

"Tell what you're thinking"

"I bet your ship's got lots of Cerberus databases. I want to look at those files. See what Cerberus has got on me. You want me on your team. Let me go through those databases. "

"I'll give you full access." Then Shepard thought ..._and Miranda's probably going to kill me._

Miranda didn't try to kill Shepard when they got back to the ship, but she did give her a withering look that might have been worse.

00000000

They visited the Citadel and picked up the thief. A lovely earth-born with serious camouflage and tech skills. Kasumi had agreed to join the mission as long as Shepard helped her steal something from a rich jerk. Since the location was close and Shepard hated rich assholes, she decided to take care of it right away.

The mission turned very personal once they headed back towards the Normandy with Keiji's greybox. Keiji was Kasumi's lover, and the greybox was a form of memory storage device. Kasumi had apparently dearly loved her man Keiji, and didn't want to lose the memories in the device. However the box also contained information desired by evil bastards across the universe, and had to be destroyed or Kasumi would be running until the end of her days. In the end Shepard destroyed the data herself, saving Kasumi from having to do it. Kasumi took it hard, but thanked Shepard for her help.

00000000

Shepard went down to the lowest level of the ship to explore the mystery that is Jack. Jack was raised in a Cerberus research facility from a very young age. They conducted experiments to make her into a biotic killing machine. She escaped as a child and has been on the run for years. She hadn't found the information she needed in the Cerberus databanks, but it was only a matter of time.

Shepard pitied her. Jack had no chance of being normal. No chance at all.

Shepard returned to her cabin for some rest.

00000000

_Corporal Davies contacted Shepard during their final approach._

_"We're looking good Lieutenant. The objective is just ahead."_

_Shepard peered intently ahead. The problem wasn't something she heard, but something she didn't. There wasn't enough ambient animal noise in this area._

_Little did she know, there were several beacons in the clearing ahead, specifically designed for thresher maws. They released a frequency so low that only thresher maws of a certain size could hear. They also spooked all local fauna, causing the disquiet that Shepard now felt._

_"The clearing is right ahead Lieutenant."_

_Shepard was just about vibrating in her seat. There was nothing to be heard for miles._

_They breached the forest wall and entered the clearing. The silence was deafening._

_Most of the squad was quiet, but there were a few who, like Shepard, were on the edge of their seats, ready for anything. When the tremors first started, these were the first out of their seats with their pistols drawn. They circled in place, trying to locate the threat. . Too bad no one could be ready for what happened._

_Only Shepard recognized the scale of the threat. Too large to threaten with conventional weapons. She located one of the beacons, shiny and new among a jungle of tarnished metal and forest. _

_"Davies! Hit that with an overload!"_

_"Hit what?" He searched around for Shepard's target. "What is it?"_

_"Corporal!" He heard the urgency in her voice and immediately complied. The beacon exploded in a shower of sparks._

_Shepard saw another almost immediately, then another, then another. She knew there were too many. She threw a warp at one and started running towards the next._

_"Take out the beacons!" Only a few knew what she was talking about. A small portion of her squad was up and moving when the attack came. The first thresher maw flipped the largest personnel carrier and killed half her squad instantly. The second flipped the tank, not killing many, but destroying the greatest threat._

_Shepard ran around the edge of the clearing destroying the beacons, one after another. When she turned back to the center of the clearing after destroying the last one, her squad was decimated. No one was vertical. Davies was half under an overturned truck, reaching towards Shepard. She approached Davies, searching for other signs of movement. There was nothing._

_The thresher maws retreated after the lures were destroyed._

_"I'm sorry, Corporal. I'm so sorry." She held his hand until he was gone._

_She contacted command and let them know about the trap and how to anticipate it. Then she gave a list of soldier's names to be recognized._

Shepard woke up crying.

00000000

Miranda walked out of her office to see Shepard sitting with her hot chocolate again. Shepard gave her a look but didn't say anything.

"Trouble sleeping?" Miranda asked.

"Do you come out here for anyone? Or just me?" Shepard's dream still had her in a bad mood.

"Well, you aren't the only person I leave my office for, but you are definitely the most important." Miranda got herself some tea.

"Because I was your project for two years." Shepard stated the obvious.

"Yes, but that's not the only reason." Miranda sat down and took a sip.

"And I'm your Commander."

"Yes...but again, those are not the only reasons. As your XO, I need to know if you're having trouble sleeping. I am here to help you in any way."

Shepard considered getting up, but decided to see where the conversation went. _I doubt you'd be willing to give me the help I really need. _Shepard pondered, then said. "I can understand that, though I'd rather not talk about my troubles."

"Should I contact Dr. Chakwas? She should have something to help you sleep." Miranda offered.

"You know sleep aids adversely affect biotics, and as you said, you need me at my best." Shepard said.

"So, how have you solved this previously?" Miranda asked.

"With a really good friend." Shepard looked down into her cup. She was getting nervous about the conversation.

"I'm sure Chambers would be happy to stop by..." Miranda started.

"No, thank you. That's not really the kind of friend I'm looking for. Psychologists do not help, especially overly friendly types."

"Ah, yes. She is a bit overwhelming...and obvious. Hopefully she hasn't offended you." Miranda shook her head.

"No, I don't mind aggressive behavior, even obvious aggressive romantic suggestions. It's just that she's not really my type, and her personality grates on me after a while."

"Yes, I have that same trouble with her. Lucky for her, she's good with the rest of the crew." She smiled at Shepard. Miranda found herself getting more and more comfortable in Shepard's company. _When we're not fighting for dominance, any way. _Miranda looked down at her own mug.

Shepard saw the smile leave Miranda's face. "What's wrong?" She asked. She resisted the urge to reach across and touch her hand.

Miranda looked back up with an expression that said she'd been caught doing something. "What?" Apparently Shepard had read her emotions.

Shepard just looked at her.

Miranda decided to lay the issue bare. "Let's see... How do I put this? You and I seem to get along fine during normal conversation or interactions. However, during missions and meetings you constantly undermine my authority. Even when you agree with me and follow my suggestion I can tell you consider going against me. I can't tell if you are using me as a surrogate for abuse intended for Cerberus, or if you genuinely do not want my advice or assistance." Shepard started to say something, but Miranda held up her hand.

"Every decision you've made has been correct, even when you went against my advice. You inspire the crew like no leader I've ever seen. And your combat skills are outstanding for someone without implants. Frankly, it's intimidating. I've been trained by the best leadership counselors, served under fleet admirals, and lead my own teams for ten years. I might question your methods and your attitude, but there is no denying your ability." Miranda paused. "As my own experience with Wilson has shown, I don't have the same skill. You didn't have my training, education, or upgrades, and you still get better results." Miranda couldn't look Shepard in the eye.

Shepard was stunned. Miranda had not only thawed a little bit towards her, but she had shown a remarkable amount of trust. Some commanders would use this revelation against her. "Miranda, you might be built to be perfect, but no one is perfect at everything. It might sound like guidance counselor bullshit, this is the truth: work towards your strength, let experts handle everything else."

"I need Garrus for ship weaponry and combat expertise. I need Mordin for scientific expertise. I need Jacob for personal weaponry and biotics. I need Kasumi for camouflage and technical expertise. Each of them know what I need them for. Jacob does not try to best Garrus with the sniper rifle. Mordin does not try to match Kasumi in close combat skill." Shepard paused to finish her hot chocolate.

"Miranda, I need you for your tactical skill, sentinel expertise, data analysis, and combat skills. The only reason you aren't my most valuable crew member is your loyalty to Cerberus. I realize you have a personal reason for that loyalty, but I will do my best to convince you they are a terrorist organization and shift your loyalty to a more worthy target. I could give you scathing reports about their activities on the human race." Shepard paused, thinking about what she had said. "Now that I've most likely worn out my welcome... I appreciate your candor about this, you've given me some things to think about. Thanks, Miranda." Shepard leaves. Miranda is both elated and discouraged. Shepard expressed her worth at the same time she showed her concern. Shepard already knew Cerberus helped her when no one else did, and now that comes between Miranda and the most inspiring leader she's ever had.

After Shepard leaves, Miranda realizes she hadn't done anything about Shepard's sleep troubles.

00000000

Horizon. TIM let Shepard know about an attack, supposedly while it was underway, and Kaidan was there. Shepard thought it would be great to see him again, if he wasn't already dead.

"Joker, head to Horizon."

"Aye, aye, Commander."

"Miranda and Grunt, suit up."

Mordin's anti swarm fix worked beautifully. Shepard would have to thank him when she got back to the ship.

The Collectors used beam weapons along with their conventional guns. Some also had directional barriers. They weren't too difficult to take out, as long as you stayed under cover for the beam weapons. Shepard found one of the beam weapons for herself after a few minutes. It looked weird, but worked wonderfully.

A short time and several collectors later, they were introduced to a new collector calling itself Harbringer that would take control of other Collectors with an ominous "Assuming control." He was tougher than the other Collectors, and had a slow moving but devastating attack. He also addressed Shepard directly.

Soon after their first encounter with the Harbringer they hacked the door into a storage building and found a live human. He had been able to close and lock the doors before the swarm got to him. He was too much of a wuss to go with them, but he did give them the location of the defense turrets. They'd have to figure out how to get them running themselves.

The team had to take out several Scions, Husks, Collectors, Harbringers, and a huge flying thing that had husk heads in its mouth, then the defense towers were operational. EDI was proving her worth with every mission. Shepard was getting fond of the AI.

The defense towers started making holes in the collector vessel, so it wisely decided to cut its losses and run.

Once the ship was gone the mechanic showed up, apparently upset that Shepard hadn't managed to save all the colonists.

"What did you expect me to do? You should be happy we saved your ass. All the other colonies have been completely emptied." Shepard was not willing to pander to the fool.

"It was a good fight, Shepard." Grunt said.

"Shepard, wait, I know that name. You're some kinda big Alliance hero."

"Formerly Alliance old man..." Shepard is interrupted by the arrival of Kaidan.

"Commander Shepard, captain of the Normandy, the first human specter, savior of the Citadel. You're in the presence of a legend, and a ghost."_ Kaidan! He's had my back since the beginning. _The mechanic left, muttering something about Alliance types. "I thought you were dead Commander, we all did."

"It's been too long Kaidan, how have you been?"

"That's all you have to say? After two years you show up and act like nothing happened? I would have followed you anywhere, Commander. Thinking you were gone... it was like losing a limb. Why didn't you try to contact me? Why didn't you let me know you were alive?" Kaidan asked.

"I was out for two years. You've moved on with your career and your life. Why reopen old wounds?" Shepard thought Anderson would have mentioned something to Kaidan, but maybe he thought it wasn't his place.

"I did move on. At least, I thought I did. But now we've got reports about you and Cerberus." Kaidan looked thoughtful.

"Reports? So much for security." Shepard thought Miranda was being a little dramatic. It's not like they haven't been seen on highly populated planets and the Citadel.

"Alliance intel thought Cerberus might be behind the missing colonists. They got a tip that this one might be the next one hit. Anderson stonewalled me, but there were rumors that you weren't dead. That you were working for the enemy." Kaidan was glaring now.

"Our colonies are disappearing. The Alliance is turning their back on them. Cerberus is the only group willing to do something about it." Shepard added, surely Kaidan had noticed.

"You can't really believe that! We both know what Cerberus is really like, what they're capable of... I wanted to believe the rumors that you were alive, but I never expected anything like this. You've turned your back on everything we stood for." _That might be taking it a bit far, Kaidan._

"Kaidan, you know me. You know I'd only do this for right reason. You saw it yourself. The Collectors are targeting human colonies. And they're working with the reapers!"

"I want to believe you, Shepard. But I don't trust Cerberus. They could be using the threat of a Reaper to manipulate you. What if they're behind it? What if they're working with the Collectors?" That seemed to Shepard to be a very large leap considering how temporary this alliance could be.

"Typical Alliance attitude. You're so afraid of Cerberus that you're blind to the real threat." Shepard gave Miranda a quick look. She looked down.

"You're letting how you feel about their history get in the way of the facts."

"Maybe. Or maybe you feel like you owe Cerberus because they saved you. Maybe you're the one who's not thinking straight. You've changed. But I know where my loyalties lie. I'm an Alliance soldier. Always will be. I've got to report back to the Citadel. They can decide if they believe your story or not." Kaidan was not playing nice.

"So long Kaidan." _Thanks for standing by me, no matter what._

"So long commander. Good luck."

"Joker, send the shuttle. I've had enough of this colony."

00000000

The Illusive Man gave Shepard a few more dossiers to look through, but she had a bit much on her mind at the moment. She did notice the name on the top file, Tali'Zorah vas Neema!

"Joker, set course for Haestrom."

"You got it, Commander"

Shepard went to the lounge. She had a drink.

"Like some company Shepard?" Kasumi sat down beside her.

"I don't think I'll be very good company right now, Kasumi." _I can't believe Kaidan. I'm the traitor!?_

"Then I'll play bartender. Here you go." Kasumi poured a drink and handed it to Shepard. It was pink. Shepard took a sip.

"Pretty good." She gave a weak smile to Kasumi.

"Guy troubles?" Kasumi asked.

"What?! No! Um...I mean, he is a guy, and I am having trouble with him, but not that kind of trouble. I'm not really interested in guys, though he would like it to be different. " _Kaidan made that perfectly clear on the original Normandy. _She paused to take another drink.

"No, the trouble is...I've been dead for two years. Cerberus brings me back to life, and asks me to investigate the colony abductions. I mean, sure, Cerberus has done plenty of things that make my stomach churn, but it's not like I'm participating in those kinds of missions. Not to mention the Alliance has completely given up on everything I discovered, even to the extreme of saying that I made it all up." Shepard growled.

Kasumi knew better than to interrupt.

"And now Kaidan shows up, expecting me to call him the instant I woke up, and tells me I should come back to the Alliance, even though they are ignoring the colony abductions. And even though losing me was like losing a limb, he can't join us because we're with Cerberus." Shepard downed the rest of her drink.

Kasumi made her another.

"I wish Liara were here. She could help me sort through this..." She took another drink.

"I heard you two were close." Joker had given Kasumi intimate details, which might or might not be based in reality.

"Yes, we were very close..." Shepard saw Kasumi's knowing smile. "No! Not like that! I mean, she slept with me, to keep my nightmares away, but we were always fully clothed." Kasumi gave her an incredulous look.

"And you don't believe me at all. Hmmm... You see, I get nightmares about several things that I'd rather not discuss, but they wake me up, often. They go away when I'm with someone, and by 'with' I mean touching, not...um...doing anything sexual. Though she probably would have been ok with it. I like my women with more strength, authority, force. Liara, though a great friend, was too soft for me." Sam looked at Kasumi's expression. "I'm going to be quiet now."

She drained the rest of her drink.

"That's sweet. I can appreciate the need for contact to settle the nerves. I can also appreciate the desire for a forceful partner, though Keiji always left that up to me." Kasumi gave her another.

Shepard hadn't mentioned any of this to anyone but Liara, and that was in her head, definitely not out loud. She wasn't sure why she was revealing it to Kasumi.

"Anyone you are interested in?" Kasumi was playing the consummate bartender. Shepard guessed she'd done this professionally at one time or another.

"I don't know. Possibly. She's so hard to read, and hardly shows any emotions. I don't even know if she likes girls." Shepard was staring down at the bar.

"Oh, the Ice Queen. Good luck with that one." Shepard looked up quickly, but saw she'd given a bit too much information.

"I know. Why do I always fall in love with girls that are completely impossible to reach. My last girl crush was completely straight. Tough as nails, completely gorgeous, but straight as a ruler." Shepard paused, then looked straight at Kasumi, "Don't you say anything to anyone." Kasumi made a zipping lips motion.

In an hour Shepard was passed out on the chaise. Kasumi came over and covered her with a blanket.

Later that night Shepard muttered something about someone named Ashley, and started sobbing. Kasumi sat next to her and put a hand on her head. Shepard quieted down.


	4. Chapter 4

Angel

Chapter 4

Bioware owns all characters within.

"Haestrom in twenty minutes Commander." Joker notified Shepard.

Sam was not in the best of spirits, though she should be. She had woken in the lounge with Kasumi, and Kasumi was stroking her hair, which was good. She'd slept much longer than she normally managed. She had thanked Kasumi profusely, and returned to her cabin to shower and suit up for the trip to Haestrom. She was going to see Tali today, which was also good. She should be ecstatic.

However, she had a wicked hangover, and they were visiting a planet where the sun was so bright it could burn your skin in seconds. Sam's eyes were watering just thinking about it. Her fair skin would burn in no time at all. Luckily they had geth to take out. She really wanted to destroy something right now.

"Miranda, Garrus, loading bay, fifteen minutes." Shepard would take a stimulant if they didn't effect her biotics.

00000000

Haestrom was all they imagined it would be, though they didn't think Tali's crew would be completely wiped out. The geth were present in larger numbers than anticipated. Miranda noticed Shepard's distress when they first hopped out of the shuttle. She decided to stick close.

It felt like a spike was being jammed into Shepard's head every time she glanced towards the sun. The rounds coming out of her sub machine gun did not help either. If they were going for anyone other than Tali, she would have skipped out on this mission. She doesn't even notice Miranda shadowing her.

They establish a comm link with a quarian named Kal'Reegar. He seems to be in charge of the squad protecting Tali, or what's left of it. He guided them towards Tali until the geth dropped a few tactical blasts which killed all the quarians they see and blocked the passage with a huge stone pillar. The noise makes Shepard cringe. She shakes her head to regain focus.

"There are a couple demolition charges in the outer buildings you can use to blow through the pillar." Kal'Reegar mentioned.

"We're on it." Shepard gritted her teeth and started plowing through geth. Miranda followed closely, but Shepard didn't need much help. Shepard is a killing machine when pissed. Miranda stayed ready in case Shepard pushed her shields too far. Miranda was going to have a talk with Kasumi later.

Shepard took out the final heavy geth in a wave, then grabs the first demolition charge. Listening to one of Tali's journal entries made her smile. She really missed her. She glances back at Miranda and the smile stayed on her face. She's really starting to like her new crew as well. Just then a new bolt of pain shot through her temple. She grimaced and headed toward the second demo charge.

Miranda is shocked when Shepard looks back and smiles at her. Something in Tali's journal must have made her happy, though that doesn't explain why she smiled at her. Then Shepard winced and Miranda approached to assist. Shepard waved her off and turned towards the geth that were just dropped. Garrus formed up next to Miranda behind her.

A geth prime was right in front. Miranda overloaded it right away, but she knew it would take a lot more to bring down. Shepard let loose with her submachine gun, saving her warp for when its shields we're down. Garrus concentrated on the troopers that dropped with the prime. One more overload and its shields were gone. So was Shepard's, but she's still firing. She gets off a warp and a trooper's shot deflects off her armor. She continued to fire until she was pulled behind a crate. Garrus switches to assault rifle and takes over point on the prime. Shepard tries to get back up. Miranda holds her firm, watching Shepard's shield level. Shepard looks at her with a questioning look. Miranda gave her a determined look and said, "Don't risk yourself needlessly, we've got this under control." Once her omni-tool registered full shields on Shepard she gives a little smile and releases her.

Shepard was not sure what to think about Miranda. They would have to discuss it later. Warp from Shepard, concussive shot from Garrus, and a final overload from Miranda and the huge thing goes down.

"The second demolition charge is down this way." Miranda said as she headed around the corner.

Shepard watched her go around the corner, then follows. Garrus watched the interaction with interest. He couldn't tell if it was a power struggle or something else. He could tell Shepard was not at her best and Miranda was covering for her, even protecting her. Whether for self preservation or for Shepard's best interest, he couldn't tell. He shook his head and refocussed on the mission. He was looking forward to seeing Tali, so as long as these two took care of business, he was happy.

A few geth sorties and another endearing journal entry from Tali, and they were back at the pillar. Shepard jammed the charges into the pillar and joined the others behind a crate. The blast rocked the area and did the job. Kill a few more geth and they're looking at Tali's visage on a communications terminal. The room looks like it was carved directly out of stone.

"Tali'Zorah to base camp. Come in base camp...Hello? Is anyone there?" Tali sounded worried.

"Tali, it's Shepard. I'm sorry, everyone here is dead. Any survivors must have fallen back." Shepard wondered whether her headache slowed her down enough to change the result. She decided not to think about it, it would just hurt more anyway.

"We knew this mission was high risk, damn it. But what are you doing here Shepard? We're deep in geth space." Shepard still loved Tali's accent, but feels the frustration in her voice.

"I was in the neighborhood, thought you might like a hand."

"Thanks for coming Shepard. It means a lot to hear your voice. Kal'Reegar and what's left of the marines got me into the observatory. From where you are it's through the door and across the field. I got the data I needed, and I'm safe for now, but there are a lot of geth outside." Shepard's headache was shoved to the back of her mind. This was important.

"It looks like someone sealed the door against the geth, and the console is damaged. Can you access it from your side?" Shepard would like to avoid using explosives in a room carved out of rock.

"Let me see." Tali paused. "Yes, I can do it. Here, it should be open now. Be careful Shepard, and please do what you can to keep Reegar alive."

"You got it Tali. See you soon."

Shepard headed through the door with Garrus and Miranda. They opened the shutters to view the field, and immediately dove to the ground to avoid a blast from a geth colossus. _I guess they know we're here._

They ran around a corner and ducked behind a wall with a quarian, who turned out to be Kal'Reegar.

"Hang on Shepard! Get down before that Colossus gets ideas. Still got no idea why you're here, but now ain't the time to be picky. Tali's inside over there. The geth killed the rest of my squad, and they're trying to get to her. The best I've been able to do is draw their attention."

"Is Tali safe?"

"The observatory is reinforced. It will take time to break in, especially if someone's shooting rockets at you. The geth are near platoon strength, but the colossus is the real trouble. It has a repair protocol and fixes itself."

"Just when you thought it would be easy." Garrus added with a smile.

"I can't get a clear shot while it's down like that. I tried to move in closer but the bastard punched a hole clean through my suit."

"How bad is your suit damage?" Shepard looked concerned, searching for a wound.

"Combat seals clamped down to isolate the infection, and I'm swimming in antibiotics. The geth might get me, but I'm not going to die from an infection in the middle of a battle. That's just insulting."

"We need to get to Tali, any ideas?" Shepard asked.

"Just one. I'm not moving so well, but I can still pull a trigger, and I have a rocket launcher the sun hasn't fried yet. You move in close. I'll keep the colossus busy, maybe even drop its shields. With luck, you'll be able to finish it off." Kal'Reegar was obviously the selfless type.

"You've done enough, Reeger. You don't need to throw you life away."

"Wasn't asking your permission. My job is to keep Tali safe. This is our best shot." Reegar was definitely one of the good guys. One Shepard didn't want to lose.

"We don't have enough people on our side for you to take one for the team. Stand down!"

"I'm not going to stand there while you run into enemy fire. They killed my entire squad!"

"And if you want to honor your squad, watch my back! I need you here if they bring reinforcements."

"All right Shepard. We'll do it your way. Hit them for me. Keelah Se'lai."

_For Kal'Reegar and Tali'Zorah, we will hit them indeed._ Shepard was focused. She had to get to Tali. She nodded to Miranda and Garrus, then shifted around the barrier. These geth were nothing.

The right was the high road, but more exposed to the sun. The left was not as high, but less exposed. Straight was the most direct route, but would expose them to the sun and attacks from both sides. Shepard decided on the right side for a better angle on the geth. They took out the few geth near them, then timed the blasts from the colossus. Shepard hit the colossus with a warp to get its attention. She wanted it to focus on her. When it hit the barrier she was behind, she took off towards the next barrier on the stairs to the right. Some more geth troopers and a heavy geth attacked her in route, but her shields were in good shape. She kept moving to draw fire away from Miranda and Garrus.

Miranda was trying to follow Shepard closely, but it wasn't easy. Shepard was drawing most of the fire while concentrating on the geth in front. Miranda and Garrus were dealing with the geth in the field and coming from the left side. Luckily the colossus was concentrating on Shepard or they would be in bad shape. Miranda shifted to the right once the geth in field were down. Garrus was handling the geth from the left without trouble, so Miranda started closing in on Shepard.

Shepard only had a few geth left to get a real good angle on the colossus. Her shield was almost gone but there were only a few geth left. An invisible geth hunter approached while she was preoccupied with a trooper. Whether she missed it because of her headache or just weariness was unknown. She warped the trooper and smashed it upside the head with her machine gun, then dropped behind a barrier for the colossus blast. As the blast hit the barrier, she noticed the invisible hunter. _Oh no. _It took out her shield. Her warp was on cool-down and her gun needed to be reloaded. She backed up quickly, trying to reload.

Miranda hit the hunter with an overload and it immediately shifted to target her. A few blasts of its gun took out Miranda's shield.

_You will not hurt her! _Shepard hit it with a warp and sub machine gun blast. Then stood up and smashed it with the butt of her gun. It shifted focus back to Shepard.

Miranda hit it with a few rounds from her pistol, then finished it off with another overload. The geth crumpled to the ground. She faced Shepard. "Shepard, I can take care of myself..." She looked behind Shepard and saw what was coming. "Get down!"

Shepard didn't notice the colossus firing the blast, and took it full in the back. It shredded what little armor she had and tore into her. She went down hard.

Miranda watched Shepard take the hit and her stomach took a turn. She immediately rushed to her side. Miranda checked the area ahead, but there weren't any geth other than the colossus. She applied a medi-gel to Shepard's back. The blood flow slowed some. She checked on Garrus. He was approaching them from behind. She waved him ahead.

Garrus glanced at Shepard as he passed them, she was bleeding quite a bit. Miranda was doing all she could with medi-gel. He got a good position on the colossus and started wearing down the shields.

Shepard opened her eye to see Miranda looking at her intently. Shepard smiled. _If only I could wake up to that every day. _"Thanks Angel." Then she started to get up. _We have to get to Tali._

"Don't call me..." then "No! Stay here! You're badly hurt." Miranda tried to hold her down, but Shepard wouldn't stand for it.

"Tis but a flesh wound." She quoted some movie from long ago in a bad British accent. "We need to get to Tali." She pushed Miranda's hand away but gave it a squeeze before she let it go. She smiled and said "Let's take out this bastard." Miranda rolled her eyes then helped her to her feet. Only to immediately push her back down into a crouch. The colossus had sent another blast in their direction. They sidled over to Garrus after the blast hit the barrier. Shepard switched back into Commander mode.

"Good job Garrus, it's shields are almost gone. Miranda, overload, then everyone follow up with all you have." The colossus was down in less than a minute.

Garrus noticed that Shepard was in pretty bad shape and offered to help, but Shepard wanted to walk on her own two feet to see Tali. The timid quarian would be upset enough about her team, she didn't want to add a wounded Shepard on top of that. The medi-gel had healed her enough that blood wasn't pouring off her back, but it was still dripping. Miranda could tell it was painful, and didn't think there was any way to keep it from Tali. She walked close to Shepard in case she needed help.

"Just a second. I locked the door to keep more geth from getting inside." Tali announced through the speaker." Short pause. "There, that should do it."

After they entered the observatory; "Let me finish this download."

Shepard smiled. _Tali, working as usual. _Her back was killing her, but she held herself straight for Tali.

"Thank you Shepard. If not for you, I would never have made it out of this room." Tali turned around to face them.

"Tali! It's so good to see you again!" This time Shepard did hug her. Tali almost jerked away, but instead softened into the embrace. This was the real Shepard.

"I missed you Shepard." Tali found she really did miss her. She looked over Shepard's shoulder and looked at Garrus. "It's nice to see you too Garrus."

"Looking good Tali, sorry about your friends here." Garrus replied.

"Is this a new suit? It looks fantastic." Shepard pulled out of the embrace and looked her up and down. That's when Tali noticed the blood on her own hands.

"You're hurt!" She turned Shepard around and looked at the wound. "Shepard! This has to be painful!"

"The colossus got me good. Nothing the Doc can't fix in a few minutes." Shepard tried to play it off as nothing.

"I applied one medi-gel, she could probably use another." Miranda offered Tali another one. Tali glared at her and pulled one out of her suit. She definitely remembered her last encounter with Miranda. She applied the gel and started applying a bandage.

"Now I've gotten you hurt as well. This mission has been a disaster. I wish I'd joined you back on Freedom's Progress, but I couldn't let anyone take my place on something this risky." Shepard could tell Tali wasn't happy about the large losses.

"What can you tell me about your mission here." Shepard asked while Tali bandaged on her back.

"Haestrom's sun is destabilizing. Back when this was a quarian colony, it was a normal star. It shouldn't change that quickly."

"Any ideas about what's destabilizing the sun?" Tali finished the bandage and stood up. Shepard turned around to face her.

"If I had to guess, I'd say it was dark energy affecting the interior of the star. The effect is similar to when stars blow off mass to become a red giant phase, but Haestrom's sun is far too young for this to be natural." Tali pulled up sheets of data on her omni-tool.

"Whatever the reason, I'm glad I could help. Once you deliver that data, I could really use you on the Normandy." Shepard looked expectant.

"I promised to see this mission through. I did. I can leave with you and send the data to the Fleet. And if the admirals have a problem with it, they can go to hell. I just watched the rest of my team die."

Just then, Kal'Reegar entered. "Maybe not the whole rest of your team, ma'am."

"Reegar, you made it!" Tali jerked around to look at Reegar.

"Your old captain's as good as you said. Damn colossus never stood a chance."

"I don't know that I'd go that far, I wouldn't have made it at all without my team." Shepard twisted to look back at Garrus and Miranda, and winced at the movement. "If need be, the Normandy can get you out of here, Reegar."

"The geth didn't damage our ship. Long as we get out of here before reinforcements show up, we'll be fine."

Tali piped up, "Actually, I won't be going with you. I'm joining Commander Shepard."

"I'll pass the data to the admiralty board and let them know what happened. She's all yours now, Shepard. Keep her safe."

"You got it Reegar. Take care."

00000000

Back on the Normandy, Garrus introduced Tali to the crew she hadn't already met. Shepard was already face down on a bed in medical.

"Cerberus saw footage of you in action, Tali'Zorah. We're looking forward to having you on the team. Your engineering experience will really benefit the mission." Garrus guessed Jacob hadn't quite caught Tali's negative body language.

"I don't know who you are, but Cerberus threatened the security of the Migrant Fleet. Don't make nice."

"That's why you're here Tali. Shepard needs people who aren't Cerberus, people she can trust." Garrus gave Jacob a look.

"I wasn't part of what happened to the Migrant Fleet, but I understand your distrust. I hope we'll get past that as we work together. There were several Cerberus missions I have discovered that disgust me." Jacob paused. "I'll get you the necessary security clearance to access our systems."

"Please do. I can't be part of your team if I don't know how the ship works. I'm heading to medical to see Shepard." Tali responded.

"Don't forget to introduce yourself to EDI, the ships new artificial intelligence." Garrus thought Jacob missed a few things about quarian history, or tact. Tali paused in the doorway, but didn't say anything. Garrus followed her out.

00000000

"Tali." Shepard said in a drugged haze as Tali and Garrus walked in. She was face down on the bed, looking towards the door. There were bandages over most of her back. Dr. Chakwas watched from her desk. Shepard reached out to Tali as she walked towards the bed. Tali took her hand and asked how she was doing. "I'm good, Doc's fixing me up good." Tali smiled at Shepard's slur. She sat down next to Shepard, trying not to look at the thick layer of bandages on her back.

"When I first heard you were working with Cerberus, I assumed you were undercover. Maybe even planning to blow Cerberus up. If that's the case, I'll loan you a grenade. Otherwise, I'm here for you. Not for them." Tali seemed concerned, and not just about Shepard's injuries.

Garrus answered for Shepard; "If it helps, check out the Normandy while you're here. We've gotten a few upgrades."

"I will. Remember, Shepard. These people thought enslaving Thorian creepers and rachni was a good idea."

"I've already discussed it with her, Tali. We're being very careful. Shepard controls every mission we undertake." Garrus added helpfully.

"Tali, please give EDI a chance. She's been really helpful." Shepard knew well the history of the quarians and geth.

"We'll see. Come see me in engineering when you're up and about." Shepard released Tali's hand reluctantly. Garrus followed Tali out.

00000000

"Kasumi, you shouldn't have given Shepard all that alcohol last night. She's in the med bay because of you." Miranda was angry.

"Miranda, Shepard was going to get drunk last night, with or without my help. Blame it on that damn Kaidan. And from what I hear, she got hurt saving your sexy ass, not because she was hung over. You might consider saying thank you."

"She might not have been that stupid if she wasn't hung over." Miranda knew it sounded lame.

"Go see her in the med bay. I'll bet she'd like to see you. She's got a soft spot for your royal Cerberusness." Kasumi gave her a wink.

Miranda glared at her and left the lounge.

00000000

_Shepard was watching her parents die, again. She was five._

_It happened the same way every time._

_Her mother and father were intentionally distracting the batarian slavers so they wouldn't check their living unit closely enough to find their hidden daughter. Samantha was hidden in an upper cabinet in the kitchen, and told to not make a sound. She held her hand over her mouth. The cabinet door didn't fit correctly, so Sam could see what was happening._

_Her father started pushing one of the slavers, saying they had no right to be there. The leader of the batarians stepped behind him and shot him the back of his head. Samantha watched her father drop. Tears fell, but she made no sound._

_Her mother went crazy. She walked right up to the leader of the group and sent him flying with an upper cut, knocking him out cold. Then she flailed out at anyone near her. Eventually one of the slavers got behind her and secured her head and torso. One of the other slavers pulled out a knife and slit her throat. Sam's tears flowed freely now, but she made no sound. Father said "Make no sound, Sam!" And she would, for him._

_The slavers dropped her mother on top of her father, then searched the unit. They didn't think to check the upper cabinets, where the future savior of the Citadel now huddled. Hours after they left Sam got out and found someone to report the murders._

00000000

Miranda wasn't sure what to do. She was upset that Shepard had risked her life to make sure she hadn't been hurt. She wasn't even sure why she had done it. It had seemed more personal than a simple teammate rescue. _How could you be so stupid? I can handle myself. _Miranda hoped it was simple squad mate protection, anything more might throw Miranda's world into a spin. Shepard couldn't be attracted to her. _I am the _ _"Ice Queen." I_ _put off so many cold vibes that proposals wither at fifty yards._ She was pretty sure she was straight as well, though the feeling that went through her stomach when Shepard went down was wrenching. Maybe she did feel something more than just the love of a good commander and compatriot. Miranda wasn't sure.

So she entered the med bay without a real plan, unusual for her. She approached Shepard's bed, and noticed she was crying in her sleep. Miranda quickly turned to Dr. Chakwas "She's crying! Is she in pain?"

"No, she's riding enough morphine to not feel anything. I imagine this is one of her nightmares." Chakwas looked sad. "I was going to call Kasumi or maybe Tali to sit with her, but since you're here, you'll do."

"What do I need to do?" Miranda didn't know what to expect.

"Kasumi told me about it yesterday. Just holding her hand is enough, though any contact works. Shepard gets wicked nightmares about teammates she lost, and her parents, who she saw murdered. Just come over here and sit down, then hold her hand."

"This hardly seems appropriate." but Miranda did as Chakwas requested.

"Don't be ridiculous. Just sit there and hold her hand. You don't have to make a big deal out of it."

The problem was, Miranda thought it was a big deal. Holding Shepard's hand was a very big deal. She was feeling nervous all the sudden, which was crazy. There was no one here but the doctor and Shepard, and Shepard was out like a light. So she tried to act nonchalant, sat down, and took Shepard's hand.

"Good, now we'll wait and see if her sleep patterns return to normal. Check her eyes to see if she stops crying."

Miranda bent over and checked Shepard's eyes. From that close she had a strange urge to bridge the gap and kiss her. She pulled back quickly, maybe a bit too quickly. Dr. Chakwas was looking at her strangely. "She stopped crying."

"Good. Now, stay there and we'll check her EKG in a bit."

Miranda sat next to Shepard, absentmindedly stroking her hand. Feeling comfortable with the situation. Then feeling uncomfortable about being comfortable with the situation. She shook her head.

"Are you feeling ok?" Dr. Chakwas was looking strangely at her again.

Miranda shook her head. "I'm fine, thanks."

"I can call Kelly if you would like." Chakwas offered.

"No! I'm fine!" She definitely did not want to see that bubbly girl. They'd done an initial psych analysis right after leaving the station where Wilson betrayed them. It had not gone well. Kelly had tried to get her to talk about her relationship with her father, and that had been it. Miranda had walked out, and hadn't talked to her again. From what Miranda had found out, Shepard had avoided talking to Kelly about personal matters as well, even though the psychologist had tried desperately to set up a meeting. Miranda smiled and stroked Shepard's hand again. Dr. Chakwas was still looking at her strangely. Miranda stopped smiling. "I'll be fine, just sorting through some personal issues. Thank you for your concern."

Dr. Chakwas shook her head and turned back towards her desk. Miranda continued stroking Shepard's hand, and resisted the urge to stroke her hair.


	5. Chapter 5

Angel

Chapter 5

Bioware owns all characters within.

Back on the Normandy after returning from Haestrom, Garrus introduced Tali to the crew she hadn't already met. Shepard was already face down on a bed in medical.

"Cerberus saw footage of you in action, Tali'Zorah. We're looking forward to having you on the team. Your engineering experience will really benefit the mission." Jacob was attempting to welcome Tali to the new Normandy, with less than optimal success.

"I don't know who you are, but Cerberus threatened the security of the Migrant Fleet. Don't make nice." Tali's eyes were slits.

"That's why you're here Tali. Shepard needs people who aren't Cerberus, people she can trust." Garrus gave Jacob a look.

"I wasn't part of what happened to the Migrant Fleet, but I understand your distrust. I hope we'll get past that as we work together. There are several Cerberus missions I have discovered that disgust me." Jacob paused. "I'll get you the necessary security clearance to access our systems."

"Please do. I can't be part of your team if I don't know how the ship works. I'm heading to medical to see Shepard." Tali responded as she turned and walked towards the door.

"Don't forget to introduce yourself to EDI, the ships new artificial intelligence." Jacob said to her back. Garrus thought Jacob missed a few things about quarian history, or tact. Tali paused in the doorway, but didn't say anything. Garrus followed her out.

00000000

"Tali." Shepard said in a drugged haze as Tali and Garrus walked in. She was face down on the bed, looking towards the door. There were bandages over most of her back. Dr. Chakwas watched from her desk. Shepard reached out to Tali as she walked towards the bed. Tali took her hand and asked how she was doing. "I'm good, Doc's fixing me up good." Tali smiled at Shepard's slur. She sat down next to Shepard, trying not to look at the thick layer of bandages on her back.

"When I first heard you were working with Cerberus, I assumed you were undercover, maybe even planning to blow Cerberus up. If that's the case, I'll loan you a grenade. Otherwise, I'm here for you. Not for them." Tali seemed concerned, and not just about Shepard's injuries.

Garrus answered for Shepard; "If it helps, check out the Normandy while you're here. We've gotten a few upgrades."

"I will. Remember, Shepard. These people thought enslaving Thorian creepers and rachni was a good idea."

"I've already discussed it with her, Tali. We're being very careful. Shepard controls every mission we undertake." Garrus added helpfully.

"Tali, please give EDI a chance. She's been really helpful." Shepard knew well the history of the quarians and geth.

"We'll see. Come see me in engineering when you're up and about." Shepard released Tali's hand reluctantly. Garrus followed Tali out.

00000000

"I'm worried about Shepard, and this entire situation." Tali was talking with Garrus as he took her down to engineering.

"Me too, Tali. But believe me, Shepard controls everything that this crew undertakes. She's already contradicted both of the Cerberus agents several times during the last few missions. They were against heading to Haestrom to recruit you when we did." Garrus led her into the elevator and hit the button for engineering.

"Shepard took one of the agents on the mission to 'collect' me? She either trusts this person, or didn't think the mission would be difficult." Tali countered.

"Miranda, and even Jacob, have both followed Shepard's orders, even when the Illusive Man gave instructions to the contrary. Jacob was livid when Shepard gave him information about specific Cerberus missions. Apparently transparency isn't a given within the Cerberus organization. Shepard is still working on Miranda, but I can tell her resolve is dissolving. There's also…ummm… another angle Shepard is using on Miranda." Garrus led Tali to her station off the elevator.

"Another angle? You're going to have to explain that one, Garrus." Tali gave him a sideways glance.

"Let's just say Shepard has an attraction to the female Cerberus agent. We'll just have to see if the attraction is mutual." Garrus smiled.

"I see." Tali said. "If that is true, I shouldn't hate her too enthusiastically."

"At this point, let loose with the glares. Miranda so far isn't amenable to Shepard's viewpoint, and openly disagrees with her. Luckily no one on the ship would follow her instead of Shepard." Garrus paused. "Engineer Adams did not join the Cerberus crew. Engineers Donnelly and Daniels are quite capable from what I have discovered."

Tali turned to Garrus once she had looked over her station. "It's good to see you again Garrus. We'll have to spend some time together during the next shore leave."

"Whenever that is…" Garrus gave Tali a smile. "Shepard has kept up a grueling schedule so far. I have a feeling she needs someone to distract her from her memories. She has a history of dwelling in the past to her detriment."

"Anything I should avoid discussing?" Tali did not wish to invite dark feelings within her commander.

"I believe anything involving lost comrades. You know about Ashley and Shepard's team on Akuze. Don't mention her parents either. Talk to Kasumi if you want to know more. Shepard has been opening up to her since they picked her up on the Citadel." Garrus answered.

"Thanks Garrus. I'll do my best. Hopefully my presence does not stir up any unpleasantness."

"I'm sure it won't. Shepard seemed genuinely glad to see you. Come see me in the main battery if you want to talk, Tali. It's great to see you again." Garrus left towards the elevator.

00000000

"Kasumi, you shouldn't have given Shepard all that alcohol last night. She's in the med bay because of you." Miranda was angry.

"Miranda, Shepard was going to get drunk last night, with or without my help. Blame it on that damn Kaidan. And from what I hear, she got hurt saving your sexy ass, not because she was hung over. You might consider saying thank you."

"She might not have been that stupid if she wasn't hung over." Miranda knew it sounded lame.

"Go see her in the med bay. I'll bet she'd like to see you. She's got a soft spot for your royal Cerberusness." Kasumi gave her a wink.

Miranda glared at her and left the lounge.

00000000

_Shepard was watching her parents die. She was five._

_It happened the same way every time._

_Her mother and father were intentionally distracting the batarian slavers so they wouldn't check their living unit closely enough to find their hidden daughter. Samantha was hidden in an upper cabinet in the kitchen, and told to not make a sound. She held her hand over her mouth. The cabinet door didn't fit correctly, so Sam could see through a slit._

_Her father started pushing one of the slavers, saying they had no right to be there. The leader of the batarian slaver squad stepped behind him and coldly shot him in the back of his head. Samantha watched her father drop. Tears fell, but she made no sound._

_Her mother went crazy. She walked up to the leader of the group and sent him flying with an upper cut, knocking him out cold. Then she flailed out at anyone near her, handing out bruises left and right. Eventually one of the slavers got behind her and secured her head and torso. One of the other batarians pulled out a knife and slit her throat. Arterial spray covered half of the room. Sam's tears flowed freely now, but she made no sound. Father said "Make no sound, Sam!" And she would, for him._

_The slavers dropped her mother on top of her father, then searched the unit. They didn't think to check the upper cabinets, where the future savior of the Citadel now huddled. Hours after they left Sam got out and found someone to report the murders._

00000000

Miranda wasn't sure what to do. She was upset that Shepard had risked her life to make sure she hadn't been hurt. She wasn't even sure why she had done it. It had seemed more personal than simple teammate assistance. _How could you be so stupid? I can handle myself. _Miranda hoped it was simple squad mate protection, anything more might throw Miranda's world into a spin. Shepard couldn't be attracted to her. _I am the_ _Ice Queen. I_ _put off so many cold vibes that proposals wither at fifty yards._ She was pretty sure she was straight as well, though the feeling that went through her stomach when Shepard went down was wrenching. Maybe she did feel something more than just the love of a good commander and compatriot. Miranda wasn't sure.

So she entered the med bay without a real plan, unusual for her. She approached Shepard's bed, and noticed tears dripping from her eyes. Miranda quickly turned to Dr. Chakwas "She's crying! Is she in pain?"

"No, she's riding enough morphine to not feel anything. I imagine this is one of her nightmares." Chakwas looked sad. "I was going to call Kasumi or maybe Tali to sit with her, but since you're here, you'll do."

"What for?" Miranda didn't know what to expect.

"Kasumi told me about it yesterday. Just holding her hand is enough, though any contact works. Shepard gets wicked nightmares about teammates she lost, and her parents, who she saw murdered. Just sit next to her and hold her hand."

"This hardly seems appropriate." Miranda said, but she did as Chakwas requested.

"Don't be ridiculous. Just sit there and hold her hand. You don't have to make a big deal out of it."

The problem was Miranda thought it was a big deal. Holding Shepard's hand was a very big deal. She was feeling nervous all the sudden, which was crazy. There was no one here but the doctor and Shepard, and Shepard was out like a light. So she tried to act nonchalant, sat down, and took Shepard's hand.

"Good, now we'll wait and see if her sleep patterns return to normal. Check her eyes to see if she stops crying."

Miranda bent over and checked Shepard's eyes. From that close she had a strange urge to bridge the gap and kiss her. She pulled back quickly, maybe a bit too quickly. Dr. Chakwas looked at her strangely. "She stopped crying."

"Good. Now, stay there and we'll check her EKG in a bit."

Miranda sat next to Shepard, absentmindedly stroking her hand. She felt comfortable with the situation, then she felt uncomfortable about being comfortable with the situation. She shook her head.

"Are you feeling ok?" Dr. Chakwas was looking strangely at her again.

Miranda shook her head. "I'm fine, thanks."

"I can call Kelly if you would like." Chakwas offered.

"No! I'm fine!" She definitely did not want to see that bubbly girl. They'd done an initial psych analysis right after leaving the station where Wilson betrayed them. It had not gone well. Kelly had tried to get her to talk about her relationship with her father, and that had been it. Miranda had walked out, and hadn't talked to her again. From what Miranda had found out, Shepard had avoided talking to Kelly about personal matters as well, even though the psychologist had tried desperately to set up a meeting. Miranda smiled and stroked Shepard's hand again. Dr. Chakwas was still looking at her strangely. Miranda stopped smiling. "I'll be fine, just sorting through some personal issues. Thank you for your concern."

Dr. Chakwas shook her head and turned back towards her desk. Miranda continued stroking Shepard's hand, and resisted the urge to stroke her hair.

00000000

Shepard was astonished to see Miranda slumped in the chair by her bed, and felt her hand in Miranda's hand. She slowly pulled Miranda's hand up to her lips, and lightly kissed it. Then she rubbed it against her cheek.

Miranda woke up with a jerk.

"Morning, Angel." Shepard gave her a smile, and rubbed her hand against her cheek again.

Miranda pulled her hand away, her eyes wide. "Don't call me that. Doctor Chakwas wanted me to stay and keep you company. You're awake now, so I'll get back to my duties." She walked out of medical.

"No! Wait! Miranda!" Shepard tried to get up, and searing pain shot through her back. She sagged back onto the table.

Dr. Chakwas came in. "Shepard! Lay down right now! You'll start bleeding again!" She pushed her back down. "Are you going to stay, or do I need to strap you down?" She checked the bandages, they were holding.

"I'll stay." Shepard looked dejected.

"Is there anything I can get for you? You're going to be on this bed for at least another day." Dr. Chakwas looked at Shepard expectantly.

Shepard groaned, then looked thoughtful. "Can you call Kasumi in here? I'd like to talk to her."

"Not a problem." Chakwas put out the call.

A few minutes later the door opened, then closed. Then Shepard felt someone grab her hand. Then Kasumi uncloaked, smiling at Shepard. Chakwas gasped in surprise. "Kasumi! What have I told you about sneaking in here while invisible? You're going to give me a heart attack!" Kasumi gave her a smirk, then turned back to Shepard.

"I would have visited yesterday, Shepard, but the Ice Queen was here." She looked her back over. "Are you going to be ok?"

"My back is going to be fine. Though Doc says I'll be here for another day at least."

"More, if you keep trying to get up."

"Thanks for the info, Doc." Shepard turned back to Kasumi. "Oh Kasumi, I think I really messed up with Miranda. When I woke up, she was asleep in the chair next to me, holding my hand. It was so nice I kissed her hand. She woke up and bolted out of the room. I think I scared her off."

"I wouldn't write her off just yet." Dr. Chakwas jumped in. "Once I got her to sit down next to you and hold your hand, she seemed quite content. But something was holding her back. I checked her out in the reflection. She switched back and forth between contentment and confusion most of the evening. She might be arguing with herself about her feelings for you, and her own sexuality. Give her some time."

"You made her sit down and hold my hand?" Shepard wasn't sure what to think about that.

"Yes. You were crying in your sleep. Kasumi told me it would help."

"I see." She gave Kasumi a glance. Kasumi was looking away at something that was apparently very interesting.

Kasumi's eyes returned to Shepard's. "So, follow the doctor's orders, and give the Ice Queen some time. I'm sure she'll come around."

"OK. Can I flirt with her?" Shepard had expectant eyes.

"As if I could stop you from doing that. Try to keep it tame. Come on too strong and you'll scare her straight." Kasumi stroked Shepard's hair. "Get better Shepard." She got up and faced the doctor. "Doc, let me know if she has another nightmare. I'll be on hand holding duty until she gets better." She turned back to Shepard. "But don't get any ideas about sharing my bed, Shepard. Keiji's the only person who will ever share my bed, sexually or otherwise." And with that, she cloaked. The door did not open. The two would later guess that she found an air shaft or maintenance ladder to escape through.

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Miranda sat in the dark and watched the stars fly by, pondering her state of unease.

She didn't know what to think about herself. Holding Shepard's hand had been pleasant, and had definitely felt like more than a friend's touch. She had never been attracted to women before. What was it about Shepard that made things different? Shepard was definitely an impressive person, professionally and personally. She was also attractive, but Miranda had been around attractive women without any reaction. She was baffled.

Shepard had been very obvious that it meant more than friendship to her when she woke up. Thinking back, Miranda felt a little guilty about causing Shepard to try to get up. She'd have to ask Dr. Chakwas how she was. Shepard fiercely held friendships with multiple women, and didn't seem physically attracted to any of them. Why did she target Miranda for her attraction?

Miranda stared out the window in her office for a long time.

Author's note. Thanks to all who reviewed. I'm happy mass effect stories still have a following.


	6. Chapter 6

Angel

Chapter 6

Bioware owns all characters within.

Kelly had a large list for Shepard once she got out of medical. Jacob wanted to see her, Mordin wanted to see her, and Jack wanted to see her. Kelly also tried to set up a 'get to know each other better' meeting. _No thanks._

Shepard went straight to Tali in engineering. The rest could wait.

Tali was pouring over data when Shepard arrived. She turned around and ran to hug Shepard when she heard her. "Oh Shepard, I'm so glad you're all better! I was so worried that you might die on the mission to rescue me." She squeezed a little too hard for Shepard's liking.

Shepard winced and pulled back a bit. "My back's still pretty tender Tali, but I am very glad we helped you out of that mess. You're definitely worth a little pain. It will still be a couple days before I'm back out in the field."

"Sorry, Shepard. What brings you down to engineering? I'm sure you didn't come here just for me."

"Of course I did, have you got time to talk?"

"We really didn't have time to chat while taking out geth on Haestrom, did we?" Tali walked back towards the mass effect core.

"Especially since I was hobbled, and then drugged out in the med bay."

"I can't believe so many people died. Thank you again for getting Reegar out alive. All for data about stars blowing up. I hope the Admiralty Board gets some use out of it."

"Any news yet on the data you sent?"

"I'm not likely to hear anything for a while. Or on an unsecured channel, for that matter." _In a Cerberus vessel _was the unspoken comment.

"Have you heard any word about Kal'Reegar? Did he survive his injuries?"

"He sent me a message. It looks like he'll make a full recovery. Any time you get a suit puncture, it's a matter of luck. Reegar got out with a relatively minor infection."

"Having any trouble settling back in on the Normandy? Anyone giving you grief?"

"No troubles so far. Fortunately, there isn't a lot of crew traffic down here. I like the quiet. I miss the old faces, though. Pressly, Engineer Adams, all of them. It doesn't seem right having Cerberus in charge of this ship. Are you sure working for them is the right thing to do?"

"I fully expect them to betray us at some point. And we'll be ready." Shepard said firmly, in full knowledge that they might be under surveillance.

"I'm glad to hear that, Shepard. Just let me know how I can help. For now, I should get back to work. Thanks for coming by."

"Come join me in the lounge when you're off duty, Tali."

"Maybe I'll do that. Thank you."

On the way out of engineering Shepard stopped by Jack's area. The poor girl had finally found the Cerberus location where she had been abused as a child. She wanted to go there and blow the place up. Shepard promised they'd get there as soon as possible.

She visited Jacob next, who had received word that a beacon from his father's ship, which had gone missing ten years ago, had been activated, and he wanted to check it out. Shepard didn't think it would be any trouble to stop by, and told him so.

Next she visited Mordin, and after upgrading her shield a bit, discussed a former associate of his. Apparently he was trapped somewhere on Tuchanka, and needed to be rescued. It might be a little difficult, with the warring Krogan tribes, but Shepard promised to visit the planet soon.

First, Shepard decided to head to Illium and pick up the assassin and the Justicar. The assassin represented stealth and skill. The Justicar represented honor and power. Shepard would need both for this mission.

Once Shepard was fully healed, Tali and Grunt joined her on illium, and found that Liara T'soni had paid their way. Shepard immediately headed to her office overlooking the trading floor. They walked in on Liara threatening to mind flay a client to force them to pay. _Was this the same scholarly asari she had gotten to know so well?_ Liara finished her call, then noticed them.

"Shepard!" She ran over and gave Shepard a quick embrace. "I had heard that you were back, but I wouldn't let myself believe it."

"It's been too long, Liara. I could really use you back on the Normandy."

"Unfortunately that won't be possible. I've got too much going on. I've set my sights on destroying the Shadow Broker...for several reasons. I'd be happy to help you out in any other way." Liara looked nervous declining Shepard invitation. She definitely did not want to discuss her reasons with Shepard. "Tali! It's nice to see Shepard has you watching her back."

"It's good to see you again Liara. Somebody's got to watch out for this reckless, accident prone lady." She smiled.

"Hey!" Shepard looked back and caught the smile in Tali's eyes. She smiled back.

They got the assassin and Justicar information from Liara, then said their goodbyes. Liara promised to keep Shepard apprised of Shadow Broker info in case she needed help, and told Tali she would send her some important personal information. Tali was not sure what it could possibly be, but said thanks none the less.

For the assassin, Shepard stuck with Tali and Grunt. She'd grown to like having Miranda around, but it was too much being close to her in that outfit of hers. Come to think of it, she hadn't seen much of Miranda at all since she'd run out of the med bay. Luckily Tali was great with her drone and AI hacking, and fun to be around as well. Grunt was getting annoying with all his 'might makes right' talk. Shepard thought she might have to switch to Garrus for the next mission.

Recruiting the assassin wasn't all that hard. Eclipse mercs just weren't that difficult with a decent team, and Tali and Grunt were very good. Thane Krios was the assassin's name, and he agreed to join their quest even after he discovered the suicidal nature of it. Probably because he wasn't going to live long anyway.

00000000

When Shepard returned to the ship, Miranda contacted her immediately, and asked where they could meet. Shepard said she would meet her in Miranda's office. On the way Shepard ran through all the options for this meeting. _Was she going to tell her to keep things professional? Was she going to tell her to stay away from her? What could it possibly be?_

When Shepard arrived, it was obvious she was wrong on all accounts.

"If we have time, I'd like to go to Illium and relocate my sister's family." Shepard took a second to reorganize her thoughts.

"Sure Miranda. What can you tell me about it?"

"My father has located my sister's family, and is coming to get her." Miranda paused. "Do you remember what I said about my father building a dynasty? He made my sister in the same way he made me, and I took her away so she wouldn't live the same fate as me. She's living a normal life on Illium, safe and hidden from my father."

"So you think your father has tracked her down?"

"He's too close. I need to relocate my sister's family before it's too late."

"What do you need?"

"I'd like to go to Illium when Cerberus is moving her family to make sure nothing goes wrong."

"No problem, Miranda. We'll leave right away." No mention of the incident in the med bay. Sam wasn't sure if that was good or bad.

00000000

Shepard took Garrus along to assist with Miranda's sister.

Lanteia, Miranda's Cerberus contact, met them in the Eternity lounge. "Ms. Lawson, I'm glad you made it. We've had a complication."

Miranda gave a start. "What happened? Is Oriana all right?"

Lanteia responds "She's fine. But you listed a man named Niket as your trusted source? He contacted me, warning that your father has sent Eclipse mercenaries to make a sweep. He warned that the mercs might be watching for you personally. He's offered to escort Oriana's family to the terminal instead."

"You didn't mention anything about Niket." Shepard was worried about another variable.

"Niket's a friend. He and I go back a long way."

"Do you want to bring in any of your other Illium contacts, ?" Lanteia asks.

"No. You and Niket are the only two I trust on this."

"It's your sister, Miranda. What do you want to do?" Shepard asked, still unsure about Niket.

"Lanteia, we'll follow Niket's suggestion. Shepard and I will take the car and draw their attention. Have Niket escort the family to the shuttle. Give him full access to the families itinerary, just to be safe."

"Understood, Ms. Lawson."

"So, the plan is for us to get shot down by Eclipse while your sister gets to safety." Shepard wasn't totally ok with the idea. There's not much you can do when falling out of the sky.

"Eclipse will be under orders to take my sister alive. They won't risk anything that would kill us."

"I'm ready whenever you are, Miranda."

"Thank you, Shepard. I appreciate this. I hadn't planned on Eclipse... But they never planned on you." Miranda gave Shepard a look that sent shivers down her spine.

00000000

"Damn it!" Miranda exclaimed. Several Eclipse gunships were shadowing their transport. "Eclipse mercenary gunships. They'll be dropping troops in the cargo area."

"Put us down in that cover behind them." Shepard didn't want to be completely surrounded.

"Let's hope they really do want to take us alive." Shepard wondered if a scan would be able to tell the difference between Miranda and Oriana.

The mercs started firing as they approached, but the commander stopped them before completely destroying the transport. Without power they fell pretty hard, but the team was ready for it. Shepard's back gave her some pain when they hit, but it wasn't serious. They pulled themselves out of the wreckage and faced down the merc leader. He seemed pretty cocky. He had obviously never encountered a Shepard team before.

"Since you're not firing yet, I trust you know who I am." Miranda confidently stated while striding towards the commander. She identified the few mercs who actually presented a threat. The commander was probably a threat, but he was too close to be useful at the moment, not to mention Shepard would take him out within seconds of combat. There were a couple others that would take longer than a few seconds, but not many. Garrus was probably analyzing the situation in concurrence with Miranda. All Miranda had to do was say the word.

"Yeah, they said you'd be in the car. You're the bitch who kidnapped the boss' little girl." Shepard could feel the fury emanate from Miranda. _Not only is this also one of the 'boss' little girls', but you just called her a bitch._ Shepard pulled her SMG off her back and held it behind her. Garrus could easily see it and would prepare, though it was unlikely he would be able to pull out an assault or sniper rifle unseen.

"Kidnapped? This doesn't involve you. I suggest you take your men and go." Miranda was at least trying to avoid bloodshed.

"Think you've got it all lined up, huh? Captain Enyala's already moving in on the kid. She knows about Niket. He won't be helping you." Shepard was starting to think worse of Niket, and this merc.

"You're not getting Miranda's sister. If you push this, it will go badly for you." Shepard gave him the truth.

"Captain Enyala ordered us to give you one chance to walk away. But this whole time we've been talking, my men have been lining up shots." Shepard was looking forward to taking out Captain Enyala. She just hoped it would be before they caught up to Oriana. "When I say the word, we unleash hell upon your squad. So I suggest you walk away nicely, or things will get ugly." Shepard didn't think this peon had seen a whole lot of ugly in his life, time for that to change. She's tempted to put the asshole in his place, but decided to give Miranda the first shot.

Miranda decided to take out the merc standing right next to the leader. She fell instantly.

Shepard slammed everything into the merc leader while sliding behind the nearest cover. Miranda and Garrus helped out with an overload and concussive shot. The commander went down without even reaching cover. The rest of the crew went down quickly.

On the way out of the area Miranda found one of the mercs radios on the ground. "Here's one of their radios. I'll patch us in." Shepard had to look away when Miranda bent over to get the radio. Her backside was quite distracting. She needed to stay focused.

In the elevator, Miranda filled Shepard in; "Shepard. I think I owe you an explanation. Oriana is my twin, genetically. But my father... grew her when I was a teenager. She was meant to replace me. I couldn't let him do to her what he did to me. So I rescued her. She's almost a woman now."

"If Eclipse knows where Oriana is, they'll be moving in on her soon. We need to hurry." Shepard thought they really needed to hurry if Niket had turned, though she didn't voice it out loud.

"Agreed. I'm a bit worried about what the merc said. If they've got to Niket somehow, this is going to be harder than I thought." Miranda voiced Shepard's concerns. "According to the specs I reviewed, we'll need to cut through the cargo processing area to get to Oriana."

"Let's go find Niket and Oriana." Shepard tried to be reassuring.

"Right." Miranda looked at Shepard with several emotions crossing her face.

Several more loading areas full of mercs later, Captain Enyala was obviously upset about their progress on the radio, but also closer to Oriana. The stress was starting to get to Miranda. Shepard wanted to wrap her arms around her to calm her down, but Miranda wasn't in the right mood. They all step into an elevator to the final loading area. They hoped to find Enyala there, and end it.

"Maybe the captain knows we're listening in and is feeding us misinformation about Niket making a switch. Or maybe it means something else. Niket wouldn't do that. Damn it, why won't this thing go any faster!" Miranda sends a spike of power into the elevator controls.

"What makes you so sure Niket wouldn't turn on you?" Shepard wondered.

"He could have turned on me when I ran away. I'm sure my father tried to buy him off. If he didn't turn on me then, why would he turn on me now?"

"You know him, Miranda. If you don't think he would betray you, I'm sure there's another explanation."

"I don't know, damn it!" Again Shepard was tempted to go to Miranda and hold her, but she knew better. "But I guess we'll find out soon enough. And then I'll have a word with this Captain Enyala."

They walked out of the elevator to see Niket, an asari decked out in armor, and an asari with a clipboard who looked like she worked there. Everyone raised their weapons.

"Miri?" Niket asked.

"This should be fun." The apparent Captain Enyala raised her assault weapon.

The dock worker took off running. Enyala shot her in the back. She was looking like a major bitch.

"Niket. You sold me out." Miranda said.

"How do you want to handle this, Miranda?" Shepard wanted to know if protecting Niket was still on their priorities.

"Why Niket? You were my friend. You helped me get away from my father."

"Yes, because you wanted to leave. It was your choice. But if I'd known you'd stolen a baby..." Shepard studied Niket. Somehow he didn't think Oriana would make the same choice for herself.

"I didn't steal her. I rescued her!"

"From a life of wealth and happiness? You didn't rescue her, you were getting back at your father!" Shepard didn't think Niket paid enough attention to the happiness, or lack thereof, that Miranda enjoyed as a child.

"If you're working for Miranda's father, that means he knows about Oriana. We need another solution." Shepard saw this getting a lot more extensive.

"Miranda's father does not have any information about Oriana. I knew you had spy programs running in your father's system, Miri, so I kept it private. I'm the only one who knows." Shepard knows Niket just put a target on his forehead.

"Which means you are the only loose end. This isn't how I wanted this to end, Niket. I'm going to miss you..." Shepard sprung into action.

"Miranda, wait. You don't want to do this." She pulled Miranda's gun arm towards the ceiling.

"This has to end here, Shepard. My father will keep trying to find Oriana."

"Maybe Niket can help, talk to your father, just say you got here first."

"I'll... I'll let him know you hid her. That I don't know where she is." Shepard was hoping this wouldn't come back to haunt them.

"I never want to see you again, Nik..." Miranda was cut off.

"Done." Captain Enyala had shot Niket in the back. "now if you'll excuse me, I have a package to deliver."

"You'll die for that, bitch!" Miranda used biotics to lift Enyala into the air, then threw her across the cargo bay. Shepard was impressed. Enyala's team showed up. Soon after the entire cargo bay was full of dead bodies. Miranda had been like a woman possessed tearing through the Eclipse mercs. Shepard and Garrus had to rush to keep up around the cargo bay.

When Shepard and Garrus caught up to Miranda, she was using biotics to smash Enyala's body repeatedly against a wall, even though the Captain was long dead. Miranda had tears running down her face as she slammed Enyala into the wall, over and over. Shepard grabbed Miranda from behind and wrapped her arms around her. Garrus caught the body as it fell and laid it in the ground. After a few seconds, Miranda calmed down a bit. Shepard weakened her grip. Miranda rotated within Shepard's arms and started crying on her shoulder. Garrus moved to guard the door, searching for more Eclipse. After a few minutes Miranda stopped heaving. Shepard pulled her away and looked into her face.

"You're ok Miranda. We got her. Your sister is safe." Shepard wiped Miranda's face clean and straightened her hair. Shepard just wanted the pain to go away. She resisted the urge to kiss her. She looked into Miranda's eyes. "OK?" Miranda nodded.

"I'm ok." Miranda's eyes were red rimmed, but she quickly regained her composure.

"Good, let's go see your sister." She gave her another hug, then headed towards Garrus and the door, her arm on the smaller woman's back. She dropped her arm when they got to the door. She didn't want to push her luck too far.

In the elevator, Miranda's fury returned. "I can't believe Niket sold me out. I didn't even see it coming."

"Even with all your upgrades, you're still human like the rest of us."

"But I let it get personal, and I screwed up. Why didn't you let me kill him? I could have handled that, but watching him get gunned down by that asari..."

"You still cared for him, even though he betrayed you."

"You're right. And my father knew it. He used that against me. It's always been like this. My father gave me everything I ever wanted, but there was always a hook, an angle towards his long term plan. I threw away everything he ever gave me when I ran away, except Niket. Weakness on my part." Shepard thought she might be losing the woman she was falling in love with.

"You can't toss aside everything you care about just to stay safe."

"It's ok Shepard. My father hurt me, but he didn't break me. As much as he tried to turn me into exactly what he wanted... I'm still the Ice Queen you insist on calling Angel" Miranda gave her a slight smile.

Shepard smiled back. "You still have Oriana."

"My father didn't give her to me. I rescued her. But yes... You're right. I still have something. Thank you Shepard."

They got out of the elevator and checked the area. No Eclipse were to be seen.

"There she is. She's safe... with her family." Miranda looked across to the happy family. "Come on. We should go."

Shepard was astounded. "Don't you even want to say hello?"

"It's not about what I want. It's about what's best for her. The less she knows about me the better. She's got a family. A life. I'll just complicate that for her."

"She doesn't need to know any details. But would it really be so bad for her to know she has a sister who loves her?" Shepard thought it might improve Miranda's life as well.

"I guess not..." Miranda still looked unsure. Shepard thought having a family would go a long way to warm the heart of ice.

"Go on Miranda... We'll wait here."

When Miranda returned, she had tears in her eyes, and the sweetest smile Shepard had ever seen. She made it her personal mission to give Miranda as many reasons as possible to smile, in hopes to see it again.


	7. Chapter 7

Angel

Chapter 7

Bioware owns the rights to all characters within.

After she returned from helping Miranda save her sister, Shepard was trying to keep herself occupied. Every time she had a few minutes she found herself heading to Miranda's office, and had to turn around. She thought they had gotten a lot closer during their adventure to save her sister, but she still wanted to give Miranda some space. Shepard checked her messages and got a small shock, a message from Miranda's sister:

_From: Oriana (Lawson)_

_I hope this is the right Commander Shepard. I'm Oriana. My sister only told me a little, but I don't think it occurred to her that I'm as smart as she is. I poked around a little and found an information broker who got me this address._

_I got to thank her, but I never got to thank you for helping me. My parents don't really understand it, but I know how much Miranda did, how many little things over the years were her looking out for me. I'm not going to tell them. I still want to go to school and get some degrees. But I wanted you to know that I know you saved me._

_I had a guardian angel all these years. I asked my sister if she had someone special. She said maybe, then quickly changed the subject. I hope they treat her well. She said she was working for you, and it was pretty clear that you were doing something dangerous. Make sure she comes back alive, okay?_

_-Oriana_

_PS: Don't tell her I sent you this. It would just make her angry._

_PPS: Miranda, quit looking at Shepard's messages. Oh, don't act like you don't. It's what I would do._

Shepard smiled, but she didn't think she could handle two Mirandas.She visited Kelly, endured the girl's innuendos, and found out both Garrus and Grunt needed her attention. Garrus finally found a contact for Sidonis, who betrayed him and caused the death of his entire squad. They would need to visit the Citadel to find him. Shepard assured Garrus they would be on the Citadel soon.

Grunt was really irritated, but didn't know why. Without any assistance from EDI or Grunt himself, Shepard decided they should visit Tuchanka and ask the elders there.

00000000

Shepard went up to the lounge to relax before attempting to sleep. She sat down in one of the couches and watched the stars go by. Kasumi stopped by and handed her a drink.

"Not so much this time. We need you at your best." Kasumi gave her a smile.

"Thanks Kasumi. I'll pace myself." Then she took a sip. It tasted like strawberries and kiwi. "They are darn good, though."

Kasumi gave her a wink and sat back on one of the other couches. Just then Tali came in. She walked around and sat next to Shepard.

"Tali! Thanks for coming up. You should try one of these drinks, Kasumi is awesome at making them." Shepard paused. "Actually, can you drink the same stuff we can? With alcohol and everything? I'm sorry I don't know that much about your physiology."

"We can, but we don't experience alcohol the same way. We have purifiers that process anything that comes through our drinking tube. It takes out much of what you would consider the flavor part of the drink. The alcohol is left in, but it doesn't affect our bodies nearly as much. I'd be happy to try one though." Kasumi returned to the bar and made a drink for Tali.

Kasumi brought it over and handed it to Tali. She accepted it with thanks. Kasumi returned to her favorite couch.

Shepard and Kasumi watched as Tali extended a tube from a hidden location and started sucking up the drink. They were staring so intently that it was making Tali nervous. She stopped drinking and looked at the other two. Shepard smiled.

"Sorry Tali, we didn't intend to make you self-conscious. We'll stop staring, I promise. Is it any good?"

"Actually, it is. More flavor than I expected made it past the filter." She continued to drink.

Shepard looked back out at the void and asked "Are you having any trouble finding decent food on the ship?"

"No, once I discussed my needs with the chef he has done quite well to accommodate me. He even surprised me a couple of times. I think he's started talking to quarians while on shore leave."

"Is anyone on the ship treating you badly? I notice some quarians get treated less than respectful while on some planets." Shepard had stood up for several of them on Illium and at the Citadel.

"Not at all, though that might have more to do with you than their actual feelings." Shepard suspected that might be true, but she was happy they weren't doing anything while she wasn't around.

"How do you like working down in engineering?"

"It's nice! Engineers Donnolly and Daniels are great, and I'm even getting used to EDI, though I'm still nervous about an AI on board. With her help I increased engine efficiency by 5.2%!" Shepard started to drift off. "All we had to do was refocus the couplings for greater thermal efficiency, then adjust the rate of fuel consumption to compensate. After that we pulled the..." Shepard was out.

When she came to, she was leaning on Tali's shoulder, who was sitting patiently, looking out the window. Kasumi had left. She didn't know how much time had passed. She jerked up.

"Oh my! I'm so sorry Tali! How rude of me."

"It's no trouble Shepard. We quarians are not afraid of contact, as most people believe. It's just that the suit makes people avoid touching us."

"Really? I guess I just assumed..." Shepard didn't know what to say.

"The lack of skin to skin contact actually makes us appreciate touching more. Here, lie down and put your head on my lap. Get some rest. I'll be fine."

"Seriously? Won't you be bored?"

"Silly bosh'tet! Come on, lay down. You need the rest. I've got a data pad, I'll run some efficiency studies." Tali pushed Shepard down onto her lap.

Shepard, still unsure of the situation, laid her head down on Tali's lap. She stared out at the stars for a while. "How do you like the new ship?" She was very aware of Tali's legs beneath her head. The fabric of her suit was very soft.

"It's nice. They improved the efficiency of the thrust, and the angles of the deflectors have been improved. The mass effect core has been aligned for the quickest transition, with improved reaction time for Joker. If I wasn't worried about a Cerberus betrayal, I'd be having a really good time."

"Anything you want to change?"

"The shields need some manipulation options. There is a large dead zone at 34 degrees from normal, and it seems to be impossible to update the software. There is simply no way to change procedure to..." Shepard slowly shut her eyes and drifted off. Tali smiled and put her hand on Shepard's shoulder. Both Liara and Kasumi had mentioned this about her dear Commander, and she was happy to accommodate. She pulled out her data pad and started crunching numbers.

00000000

Shepard woke better rested than she had in a while. Tali was stroking her hair. Shepard sat up. She was shocked to discover it was the next morning.

"You sat here all night?" Shepard couldn't believe Tali was that willing to accommodate her. I didn't mean for you to sit there that long..."

"I told you it was fine. My last ship was on a different sleep cycle. I'll be good as long as you don't take me out today." Tali smiled.

"Thank you Tali, I really appreciate it."

"It's no trouble, really. In fact, if you like, I can meet you in your cabin whenever you sleep." Now Shepard thought Tali was being a little too accommodating.

"You can't be serious!" Shepard thought about it for a little bit. "Oh wait, Liara. She sent you a message about a personal issue. I see." Shepard started to turn away.

"Shepard!" Tali grabbed her shoulder and pulled her towards her. "She wasn't the only person to mention it. It doesn't matter. You need this. Just don't try to get in my suit and we'll sleep together fine. OK?"

"You know I hate to be a burden. I consider it a weakness." Shepard wasn't sure whether to be elated or upset. She should be ecstatic that her friends love her this much, but she really does hate to need anyone. Growing up without parents taught her that.

Tali drew her in to a hug. "Don't be that way. You get to sleep well. I get to sleep in a decent bed. Believe it or not you aren't unpleasant to be around." Tali gave her a smile. "There are no downsides. Kasumi already hacked your cabin door. I'll be waiting for you when you head to bed this evening. Say thank you, and have a good day."

"Thank you, Tali." Shepard was tearing up.

"Don't cry, Shepard. You've done so much for all of us. Don't pretend you haven't. This doesn't even qualify as an inconvenience for me." Tali gave her another hug and got up. "Have a good day, I'll see you tonight." She walked towards engineering. Shepard was very, very grateful for her friends.

Kasumi strode in with a smile. "Ready to save the world today, Shepard?"

00000000

Shepard and Kasumi sat down across from Thane at breakfast. Shepard was interested in the polite assassin's story. Kasumi discussed turian whiskey with Garrus.

"When we first met, you said you were dying. Care to elaborate?" Shepard asked the drell while trying to tone down her normal table manners.

"Yes, I thought you'd want to know more." Thane answered in his gravel voice, reminding Shepard of people who inhaled too many stimulants. "You don't have to worry about the rest of the crew. My illness is not communicable, even to other drell. It's called Kepral's Syndrome."

"Are you going to be alright until the end of the mission?" Shepard asked, taking special care to finish chewing before speaking. Kasumi kept glancing over to smirk at her attempts to maintain propriety, almost entirely failing. She was impressed at Thane's ability to 'not see' Shepard's lack of manners. Years of military service had not been kind to her.

"I should be fine for another 8 to 12 months. The more time I spend in humid environments, the faster it progresses. I think it's safe to say that by the time my body is incapacitated; we'll be victorious, or dead. Either way, I won't be a burden to you."

"What exactly is the problem?" Shepard delved deeper into the issue.

"My people are native to an arid world. Most of us now live on Kahje, the hannar homeworld. It's very humid, and rains every day. Our lungs can't deal with the moisture. Over time, the tissue loses its ability to absorb oxygen. It becomes harder to breathe. Eventually we suffocate." Thane seemed to have accepted his fate.

"Can't they do something about that?" Shepard assumed something as simple as a dehumidifier wouldn't be that hard to come by, though needing one from birth might be quite the hurdle.

"The hanar have funded a genetic engineering program. They should be able to adapt us. The project has only been running for a few years. I don't believe my body will still draw breath by the time it bears fruit." Thane answered, looking closely at Shepard.

"Then don't live on Kahje. Or use a breather." Shepard threw out ideas, though she knew it was most likely well travelled ground. She thankfully finished her breakfast.

"Drell have a close relationship with the hanar. We rely on each other. The best we can do is keep our homes very dry inside."

"Is it painful?" Shepard asked.

"I would call it unpleasant. You slowly feel more and more like you can't catch your breath. Exercising and keeping fit helps to mitigate the effects, but eventually I will suffocate." Thane answered, looking down.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Shepard posed.

"Giving me a cause worth fighting is good enough for me." Thane looked up at Shepard.

Shepard smiled, "That's one thing I can provide. Impossible missions seem to be my forte." She paused to think. "How would you like to meet a Justicar?"

00000000

Thane joined Shepard and Garrus on Illium to pick up the Justicar. Shepard wasn't sure about her. The security agents in charge were scared of her, which made Shepard apprehensive. When they saw her break the neck of an Eclipse mercenary who wouldn't provide the information she needed Shepard was worried. _Of course, we could use another badass on our side._

Once Shepard assured her they would get the information she needed, the Justicar agreed to join their cause. After wading through many Eclipse mercenaries and clouds of toxic gas, they found the information they needed on an upper Eclipse lieutenant. Thane took her out with ease once Shepard and Garrus wore her down.

The security officer in charge was grateful for Shepard's assistance. Samara(the Justicar) was willing to leave the area peacefully with the fugitive information she needed, and the officer didn't need to attempt to arrest the Justicar(which would likely have resulted in the officer's death). Samara swore an impressive oath to Shepard and they left for the Normandy.

00000000

Jack and Grunt were both having agitation issues, so Shepard decided to take care of their problems next. Hopefully that would calm them down.

Jack and Grunt complement each other, and they actually get along, so Shepard took Grunt along to watch Jack blow up her childhood torture chamber, he'd probably enjoy it. Unfortunately, it looked like some mercenaries had taken up residence within the facility. Fortunately, they proved a good target for Jack's growing aggression. The bodies were flying when Jack let loose. Shepard noted that with more precision Jack could become a truly epic biotic.

From the log notes, it was starting to sound like the facility had gone rogue, and the torture of innocents, including Jack, had been entirely non-sanctioned. Shepard thought this was ironic considering the torture Cerberus had sanctioned in the past.

They took out all the mercs and ran off a deluded former student before planting a bomb and taking off. The bomb decimated the forest for miles around the former facility.

Shepard hoped this would settle Jack down, but the instant they got back to the ship Joker let her know Jack and Miranda were battling it out in Miranda's office.

Shepard ran into Miranda's office, and found Jack throwing things around.

"Touch me and I will smear the walls with you, bitch!"

_Jack could be so subtle._

"Enough! Stand down, both of you!" Shepard roared at them.

"The cheerleader won't admit that what Cerberus did to me was wrong!" Not surprising given Miranda's literal interpretation, since the facility went rogue.

"It wasn't Cerberus, not really, though clearly you were a mistake." _Nice Miranda, egg on a psychotic._ Shepard glared at her. Miranda kept her eyes on Jack.

"Screw you! You've got no idea what they did to me. Maybe it's time I show you!" Shepard had to stop this lunacy.

She stepped between them, knowing full well the dangers of stepping between two powerful biotics. "Our mission is too important to let personal feelings get in the way."

"Fuck your feelings. I just want her dead." Jack was not helping.

"You both know what we're up against. I need both of you alive. Save your anger for the Collectors." Shepard attempted to refocus the energy.

"I can put aside my differences... Until the mission is over." Miranda said with venom. She was still avoiding Shepard's eyes.

"Sure, I'll do my part. I'd hate to see her die before I get the chance to filet her myself." Jack said with equal malice. Shepard was going to have to work on both these girls. She'd have to convince Miranda that Cerberus is a terrorist organization, and get Jack into some kind of anger therapy. It wasn't going to be easy with either of them. Trying to convince either of them how similar they were might be nigh impossible.

"You two going to be ok?" Shepard asked. Jack stormed out. _I guess not._

"It's a good thing you came by when you did. As long as she does her job, we'll be fine. Thanks Shepard." Miranda returned to civility. "And thank you again for your assistance with Oriana. If you hadn't been with me I never would have gotten there in time. I owe you a great debt." Miranda finally looked at Shepard's face with a smile, then returned to her terminal.

"Any time, Miranda. Do you think you'll talk to her again?" Shepard was thinking about the mail she received from Oriana the day before.

"I don't know. For the first time in my life I don't have any set plans."

"My door is always open, Miranda. Let me know if you want to make any plans."

Shepard wanted to discuss their feelings, but felt it probably wasn't the best time. Miranda was concentrating on her terminal. Shepard took off for the lounge. She didn't see Miranda look up and watch her until she was out of sight.

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Miranda was confused. She had avoided relationships her entire life. They allowed people to manipulate you, interfered with your career, and got you hurt. Even a relationship for the sole purpose of procreation had been ruined by her father's legacy agenda.

And now here she was, the Ice Queen, having considerable feelings toward the damn Hero of the Citadel. She couldn't explain it. She hadn't even felt attraction towards women at all until this infuriating woman. Shepard made everyone like her. Her leadership and skill drew people towards her. Her compassion towards the smallest and most insignificant made people adore her. She could have almost any guy she wanted, but had made it abundantly clear she wasn't interested in any of them.

And so Miranda felt compelled to be around this person at the same time she desperately wanted to stay away. She felt herself wanting to reach out and touch Shepard when she walked by, found herself watching her do absolutely nothing over the surveillance cameras, and wanting to be near her for no reason at all. Shepard even appeared interested, until recently...until after the medical center incident. At first Shepard flirted with her constantly, now Shepard practically stopped. Sure, she still gave Miranda appreciative glances and friendly smiles, but none of the 'accidental' touches and not so well veiled sexual references. Shepard even quit calling her Angel, which Miranda didn't mind nearly as much as she made out. All because Miranda had freaked out about Shepard kissing her hand, which might have been the painkillers talking.

Miranda wondered if Shepard had given up on her. She also wondered if that would be better for both of them. Her head was telling her something different from the ache in her chest. She should talk to Shepard about the situation.

She saw that Shepard was in the lounge. She could never be sure whether Kasumi was in there, though usually she was visible when Shepard was there. She also wasn't sure what to think about Shepard sleeping with her head on Tali'Zorah's lap the night before. That seemed odd. She was tempted to review the audio from that particular encounter, but it seemed a little too much like stalking.

Miranda put her thoughts about Shepard on the back burner, and got back to the paperwork Shepard never seemed to do.

A normal human might ask someone else for advice in this situation. Miranda was not a normal human. It was both the reason for Shepard's infatuation with her, and infuriation towards her, and the reason Shepard was knocking back a few in the lounge. Finally it was late enough that Tali came and found Shepard.

"Shepard. It's getting late. Come on to bed. You'll need to be awake to deal with the krogans on Tuchanka."

"I know, Tali. I just don't know how to handle Miranda. I think I really did scare her away in the med bay."

"Shepard, if she's worth your trouble she'll come around." Tali hid her personal feelings about the Cerberus operative. It just wouldn't be productive. "Now put that drink down and come to bed. You're not any good to us hung over and sleepy." Tali pulled the drink out of Shepard's hand, and started dragging her out of the chair.

"I know Tali, it's just hard to resist flirting, and touching, and innuendos..." Tali rolled her eyes.

"Come on Shepard. Now you're making me blush. Let's go. We can talk about it in your cabin." Tali dragged her the rest of the way out of the chair and walked her to the elevator.

Once they arrived at Shepard's cabin they started getting ready for bed. Shepard brushed her teeth, then started getting out of her clothes.

"I just don't know what to do with her. Sometimes she acts so tender towards me, then, within the space of a heartbeat, the frigid Ice Queen returns. When I was in the med bay..."

"Because of me..." Tali interjected. Shepard put on her nightshirt.

"Quiet. It was not your fault. As I was saying...she stayed with me, holding my hand, long enough to fall asleep." She put on some shorts, pretty sure that Tali wouldn't want to sleep with her in just a shirt. "When I woke up I snuggled up and kissed her hand, then called her Angel. She bolted and is now avoiding me as much as possible. Both Kasumi and Doc told me to give her some time. I don't know what to do. "

"Do what the doctor ordered. Give her some time, but make sure she knows you're still interested. You can probably flirt a little more at this point, just don't try to rip her clothes off." Tali turned the lights down, and got into bed. "Come here. I'll snuggle up to you. Other way around and you might grab me in a dream."

"Tali, you really are the nicest person in the universe. Are you sure you're ok with this?" Shepard was still unconvinced.

"I'm here aren't I? We're not getting married. We're not linking suits. Quit complaining and get into bed. It's getting late. I need sleep as much as you."

"Thank you, Tali." Shepard crawled into bed and faced away from her. Tali snuggled up and put her arms around Shepard, making sure not to hit any of the 'important spots' as Kasumi had called them. Shepard gave a contented sigh and drifted off to sleep. It was the best sleep she had since being dead.


	8. Chapter 8

Angel

Chapter 8

Bioware owns the rights to all characters within.

The next day Grunt, Shepard, and Jack were fighting packs of varren as they slaughtered their way through Grunt's Rite of Passage. Shepard guessed Jack had come along to help to pay Grunt back for coming to Pragia with her. It was hard to be sure, but Shepard thought she could sense more control from Jack, less pure aggression. Her shockwave was doing wonders against the varren.

They came to Tuchanka to figure out why Grunt was suffering what humans would consider an anger management disorder, only to find he had reached puberty. The Rite of Passage was the means for Grunt to regain control over himself. The Rite was conducted in a concrete arena with two levels and multiple pillars. Some of the pillars were concrete and looked pretty solid. Others were made of rusty metal panels, and didn't look like they'd take much abuse before collapsing.

_Grunt is sure enjoying himself._ Shepard thought to herself as he picked up the last varren and broke its back against a pillar. He turned to her grinning. He was already covered in blood. _I wonder how many rounds we have to go through?_ Wrex had said they needed to defeat several waves of creatures, without elaborating. "Everybody ready for the next round?" Grunt nodded in assent. Jack took a stance behind and to the right of Grunt. Shepard hit the keystone for the second time. Once hit it started an audio recording that, Shepard assumed, was supposed to be inspiring. Then a large mechanical device set off a deep sonic pulse.

A harvester landed and dropped off several bright red bug like creatures, then flew to the other side of the arena and dropped more. Shepard took one side, Grunt and Jack took the other. Shepard warped the first of the red creatures as it scuttled up the stairs to the upper level. When she gunned it down, it blew up in a great fireball. "Keep away from them when they die!" Shepard yelled as she backed away from the second one.

Hearing Shepard's warning, Grunt pulled out of a charge and dived to the side just as his target exploded, knocking him up against a wall. Jack helped him up, and they took out the last creature on their side. Shepard ran over to their side and saw they had finished them off. She smiled. She was proud of her team. They were all improving beyond her hopes. These bugs would have caused them trouble just a few short weeks ago. Then the harvester dropped another set of bugs and they were back at it.

Shepard hit the keystone for the(hopefully) last time, a little singed but in decent shape. The ground started shaking immediately after the keystone pulse. The team stood in a circle looking everywhere. Tentacles burst out of the ground in every direction. Shepard started to sweat. She fought back images from Akuze. The same sound preceded the thresher maw attack that destroyed her entire squad. An image of Corporal Daniels flashed in her mind. Jack took a quick shot at one of the tentacles. They all sucked back into the ground and the beast burst forward.

"Thresher maw!" Grunt yelled as he dove for cover. Jack ran behind a nearby pillar. Shepard shifted to the nearest rusty structure, images of lost comrades flashing through her head. _Not this time, you bastard._

Shepard whipped out her particle beam weapon and laid into the thresher. It immediately howled in anger and spit some green slime at her. She ducked behind the tower but the green stuff blew it over. Shepard rolled over to another structure, but it didn't look solid either. She was going to have to keep moving.

Grunt and Jack found some solid pillars to hide behind. They were reaching out of cover to shoot after the thresher attacked. Shepard wanted to keep the nasty green stuff away from them, so she stuck with the flimsy towers. Shepard gave the huge beast another blast with her weapon. It gave another howl of pain and dove back underground. It reappeared on the opposite side of the arena. Shepard ran to a tower on the other side, shooting the beast the entire way. It took out the tower she had just stepped behind. The beast was bleeding everywhere, so she assumed it was just about finished. Shepard reached the last of the rust covered structures. Grunt and Jack joined in as Shepard carved away at the beast's gut. Unfortunately the beast got off one more spit before collapsing into a pile of blood and gore. Shepard didn't get completely behind the tower and took a heavy splash of green stuff on her offhand arm. The acid started eating through her flesh instantly. Shepard howled in pain.

"Shepard!" Jack ran over and pulled the armor off that arm, making sure she didn't get any of the crap on herself. Shepard was gritting her teeth. Grunt took out a canteen and tried to wash the green shit off. It worked well enough that the acid wasn't eating her any more, but her arm needed medical attention soon. A lot of her skin was raw and bleeding. Jack took out a medi-gel and smeared it on her arm. It stung, but Shepard knew it would help.

"Thanks Jack. Let's get back to the ship. I'd prefer not to have a scar over my entire arm." Shepard got up. A transport glided overhead and headed towards the corner of the arena.

"We have company. Good, I want more." Grunt said as a transport touched down.

Gatatog Uvenk steps out. "You live, and you killed a thresher maw. No one has done that in generations. Urdnot Wrex was the last." Six more krogans exited the shuttle after Uvenk. Shepard shifted over towards the nearest barricade. Her peripheral vision showed Jack following suit.

"My krantt gave me strength beyond my genes, which are damned good." Shepard thought it was quite elegant for Grunt. Uvenk started pacing while his squad kept their weapons trained on Shepard's group.

"This will cause discussion. I wonder...you say you are pure? No alien meddling in your construction? Just the Warlord Okeer?" Uvenk was asking a lot of questions for someone who thought Grunt was an abomination. He turned and faced them, weapon still drawn.

"You're stumbling Uvenk, what's your game?" Shepard asked while scoping out the nearest barricade.

"Grunt will command much respect now. His strength may be artificial, but it is a tolerable loophole." Shepard didn't like where this was heading.

"A what?" It seemed Grunt didn't like where this was headed either.

"A reason to accept you. You are a mistake but your potential could tip the current balance of the clans." _Not the right thing to say to a Krogan who just took out a thresher maw. _Shepard shifted her weight in anticipation of a quick dive for cover.

"You spit on my father's name! On Shepard's name! But now you stop ranting because I'm strong?" Grunt was not pleased.

"With restrictions. You could not breed, of course. Or serve on an Alien ship. But you'd be clan in name." The rest of Uvenk's group could tell Shepard's team wasn't going for it, and angled for strategic positions. Shepard couldn't believe Uvenk's ego. _Spouting off all this shit, expecting Grunt to jump at the chance._

"It's your call Grunt. Sounds like an easy job." Shepard was pretty sure what he'd say, and made sure her weapon was ready.

"That's the problem. I'm pure krogan. Uvenk, you are the pretender!" Grunt growled.

"Your head is valuable whether you're alive or dead!" All the guns came out.

"Just try and take it!" Shepard followed Grunt to cover. Jack was already throwing a shockwave. Grunt started taking out Uvenk's underlings while Shepard took out the chargers. It was a short while till Uvenk was the only one left.

_Uvenk can actually shoot, _Shepard thought grimly. He was keeping them under cover while moving into range to charge. Shepard couldn't get off much more than the occasional warp. Jack and Grunt were looking at her expectantly. _This doesn't look good. _Grunt was tightening his armor in preparation of a charge.

"Shepard?" Jack asked while reaching over the barrier for a blind shot.

Shepard thought one of them might get hurt if Uvenk got a run at them. Uvenk was just about around their barricade when Shepard made a decision.

_No you don't!_ She hopped up on top of the barricade and took a flying leap at Uvenk. He didn't even have time to raise his weapon. Using the butt of her gun, she smashed his crest, hitting it with such force that bone shards shredded his nervous system. He died instantly. She landed on a sharp protrusion of his armor with her exposed, acid burned arm. It cut her upper arm to the bone.

"Darn. It was all going so well..." Grunt helped her up, and Jack attempted to stop the bleeding. Wrex and the rest of the decent krogans showed up through an entrance in the concrete. _Could have used you guys five minutes ago._

"Shepard! Taking out a thresher maw! Nice work! And Uvenk as well, he shall not be missed."

"Thanks Wrex, now, if you don't mind, I need to get back to my ship."

Wrex noticed the blood pouring down her arm. "Right! Alright krogans! Double time Shepard and crew back to the hangar!" He walked next to them as they rushed to the transport. "I can't believe you took out Uvenk through his crest! Impressive!"

00000000

Back in medical, Dr. Chakwas was once again not happy with Shepard. "Young lady! When are you going to stop coming in here wounded? I'm going to have to seal up the slice in your arm...the same arm, by the way, that I have to slather with ointment for the next three days. How do you expect me to seal up a wound that's covered with ointment?"

"Well Doc, this is the med bay. Where else should I take myself when badly wounded? And besides, if I do recall, I brought you some brandy a little while ago, while completely undamaged." Shepard was just starting to feel the effects of the painkillers Chakwas administered when she first arrived.

"And it's a good thing you did too. Otherwise I might forgo the ointment and let your arm scar up. How in the world did you get yourself mixed up with a krogan and a thresher maw on the same day?"

"Sorry doc. I didn't plan my day out very well."

"Alright, lay back, I've got to clean out the wound. This is going to sting."

"Shepard!" She looked over to see Tali and Kasumi entering the medical area. She gave them a lazy smile. "When I heard you were injured I rushed right over!" Tali grabbed her good hand. She was talking too fast again. "Are you ok? Will you heal properly? Will you get an infection? Will there be scarring? I heard you got attacked by a thresher maw! And you cracked a krogan's skull! That can't be true. Is that even possible? Dr. Chakwas? Is she going to be ok?"

"I'm going to be ok Tali. Doc's going to fix me right up. My left arm's probably going to need some therapy, though."

"Working on some more sexy scars, eh Shepard?" Kasumi looked down at her with a knowing smile.

"Yep, thanks for noticing." Shepard felt the drugs kicking in with enthusiasm. "Don't be offended if I fall asleep, Chakwas gave me some of the good stuff."

Kasumi looked back over her shoulder towards Miranda's office. No sign of her yet. _That damn woman. What is wrong with her?_

00000000

Miranda's mind was buzzing with things she ought to do, but she couldn't decide, so she did nothing. When she heard that Shepard was being brought in with an injury, she almost bolted out the door. But how would that look. From all appearances she was just Shepard's XO. Other than the mission to collect her sister they had barely spoken in the last week. Checking the monitors, it looked like her arm was wounded, but nothing else. Miranda was relieved. She had heard some nonsense about a thresher maw and cracking a krogan's crest. She assumed they were exaggerating. Miranda decided to go talk to her after the doc was finished.

Then Tali and Kasumi arrived. Tali rushed over and grabbed Shepard's good arm, holding it tight. It looked like she rattled off quite the conversation. After a few minutes Kasumi brought over a chair for Tali to sit in, then brought over a chair for herself. Not that they could talk to Shepard much, she had fallen asleep. Miranda really didn't want to go over while they were there. Dr. Chakwas finished the bandage on her bicep and started rubbing ointment over her arm.

Then the rest of the crew arrived to give Shepard their regards. Shepard was lightly woken and accepted their well wishes for as long as possible. Jack the bitch even showed up to give her regards. Shepard drifted off again and it was finally down to Tali and Kasumi. It seemed like Kasumi was glancing pretty frequently in the direction of Miranda's office. _What is that about?_ Dr. Chakwas finished coating Shepard's arm and propped it up to keep Shepard from wiping off the ointment.

Tali settled down eventually, but kept her hand in Shepard's as she did something on her data pad. _What is going on between those two?_ Miranda could not figure out Tali's relationship with Shepard. They weren't kissing or snuggling like lovers would, but they were a lot more physical than friends. Miranda wondered if Shepard found someone to replace her, not that they'd ever had much of a relationship. She found herself longing to switch places with Tali.

00000000

Kasumi was starting to think Miranda was a complete bitch. Even as a normal member of the crew she should have come to visit by this point. Then she figured it out. Miranda was watching them through the cameras, and from a purely visual perspective this scene might not be something she wished to interrupt. Not to mention, Tali might appear to be a lot more than a friend through a camera lens. Kasumi looked up to the camera in the corner and grinned.

"Tali sweetheart, if I come back here with Miranda I want you to scram. Is that alright?"

"OK, but if she starts acting like a bosh'tet I'm going to sick Chikitta on her." Tali put her data pad away, but kept holding Shepard's hand.

"Don't worry, if that's the case I'll take care of her myself." Kasumi strode out of medical and across the ship to Miranda's office. She wondered if the door would open.

00000000

Miranda watched Kasumi coming, unsure of what to do about it. She'd seen Kasumi look into the camera, and figured something must be going on, but had no idea what. The door opened and Kasumi walked right up to her.

"Come with me, Miranda. Someone who loves you needs you."

"Wha..." Miranda tried to swallow that statement.

"Come on... Even if you just like her as a Commander and have little interest in her personally you should visit when she's wounded in medical!" Kasumi grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the chair.

"Wait!" Miranda pulled out of Kasumi's grasp. _Wait for what? She did want to go over there, didn't she? And what had Kasumi said about love?_

Kasumi linked arms with Miranda and started dragging her to the door. "Come on Miranda. You need to see how Shepard is doing." Miranda let her take her.

Tali stood up to go when Miranda entered. She reluctantly let go of Shepard's hand and left the lab, giving Miranda a weird look on the way.

Kasumi guided her over to Shepard. "Shepard received acid burns from a thresher maw over her entire arm, and a deep cut in her upper arm while smashing her gun butt through the forehead of a krogan. Grunt and Jack tell me it was a sight to see. It's going to be a while before she can use that arm very well." Miranda couldn't believe that part of the rumor was true.

Kasumi continued. "You may not know it or share it, but the Commander cares about you a great deal. Now, as I care about her a great deal, and it would make her happy if you sat here and held her hand, that's what I want to happen. Have a seat." Miranda couldn't believe what was happening. The thief who was outlawed in several systems was telling her what to do...and Miranda was inclined to follow the order.

Kasumi almost grabbed her again, "Hold on, I just want to check on her." Miranda said quickly, then walked around to the other side of the bed to get a better look at Shepard's arm. She couldn't tell what it was like under the bandage, but the rest of the arm looked pretty painful. There were blisters and redness everywhere. She hoped it wouldn't scar too much. She saw a couple 'brought back to life' scars as well, but they were fading. She looked up at Shepard's face, those scars were fading as well. Such a beautiful woman. She resisted the urge to kiss her on her forehead, that was not for Kasumi to see.

Miranda looked up at her, and Kasumi knew. _The Ice Queen was as smitten by Shepard as Shepard was smitten by the Ice Queen. Only the Ice Queen's hard shell was too thick._ Kasumi suspected Miranda thought it was a sign of weakness to fall for someone, and wouldn't allow herself the pleasure. She'd probably been burned a time or two as well. A single tear slid down Miranda's face.

Kasumi guided Miranda into the chair by Shepard. She placed Shepard's good hand in Miranda's, and looked into Miranda's face. "I don't want you to leave this spot. You will be here when Shepard wakes up, and you are not going to run away when she does. Avoiding each other is not going to fly any more. You care too much about her for that. Do you understand?" The usually eloquent Miranda was speechless. She nodded at Kasumi.

"Good. Now, call me if you need anything." Kasumi headed for the door.

"Um...wait, Kasumi?" Miranda found her voice.

"Yes?"

"Do you know what is going on between Shepard and Tali?"

"They're just really good friends. Tali helps Shepard out with her nightmares...in a non-conventional way." Kasumi thought she better leave it at that.

"Thank you." Kasumi left. Miranda wondered what 'unconventional methods' Tali was using to help Shepard with her nightmares.

Miranda sat holding Shepard's hand, wondering what would happen when Shepard woke up.


	9. Chapter 9

Angel

Chapter 9

When Shepard woke up someone's hand was in her own, but it wasn't Tali. There was no suit covering the fingers. _Had Kasumi switched with Tali during the night?_ She peeked her eyes open and was astonished. Miranda was holding her hand. Shepard's heart did a somersault. She was afraid to kiss it, or even move all that much. She just held tightly and enjoyed the sensation. She eventually drifted back asleep with pleasant thoughts running through her mind.

00000000

"Commander, you need to wake up." Dr. Chakwas broke through Shepard's sleep.

Shepard opened one eye and saw the doctor. She shut her eye quickly.

"Commander...I need to redo your bandages." Her eyes stayed shut.

Someone, whose hand was holding hers, squeezed tighter. When Shepard remembered who it was, her eyes flew open. Miranda was standing over her. She smiled at Shepard. She lightly brushed Shepard's hand with her lips. Shepard's eyes got large and her heart beat rapidly.

"We'll talk later Shepard. She's all yours, Doctor." Miranda got up and left medical. Shepard watched her go, unsure what just happened.

00000000

After some very painful removal and replacement of the bandage on her arm, Shepard was allowed to think to herself, and she didn't know what to think. Miranda had avoided her for so long she thought there was no chance. She had drifted off in the safe hands of her friend Tali, and woken up with the enigma that is Miranda. To say she was shocked was an understatement. She stared across the ship towards Miranda's office.

Kasumi walked in. "Shepard, how are you feeling?"

"I'm ok, still in a little pain, but nothing too bad... I don't suppose you could explain how I went to sleep holding hands with Tali, and woke up with the object of my desire? How did you convince her to make nice? She kissed my hand..." Shepard drifted off, still thinking about the brief contact.

"I'm not sure Shepard. The object of your desire would be...?" Kasumi asked playfully.

"You know who. What did you do?"

"Give me a hint Shepard. Blond, brunette, redhead?"

"Kasumi!"

"All right. I had a talk with Miss Miranda about not coming to see you while you were hurt in the med bay, and she had no good excuse." Kasumi smiled at Shepard. "Go see her as soon as you get out of here, I think you've broken through the ice. Until then, you can sit with me or Tali, or Miranda if she's available. Try not to smile too much."

Shepard didn't know what to say. She reached for Kasumi with her good arm. Kasumi came over and Shepard gave her a one armed hug.

"Get well Shepard. Doc, call me if you need me?"

"Yes, Kasumi. I'll let you know." Kasumi left, using the door for a change.

Shepard settled back into bed and tried to relax while Chakwas rubbed ointment into her arm. "Doc? You have anyone special?"

"I've been married for twenty years to a wonderful man."

"Was it love at first sight?"

"I would have to say it was lust at first sight. The love figured itself out later." Chakwas finished with Shepard's arm.

"How does he keep from going insane with worry? We are on a suicide mission, after all."

"He does worry, yes. But we both know that even if one of us is gone, we enjoyed every second of time we had. There's not much more you can ask for." Chakwas paused. "He also knows how important our mission is."

"Everyone I love is on this ship. I don't know what I will do if I lose any of them, much less all of them."

"You will do what you always do, feel guilty for your fallen friends. But you must remember the good times as well. Use those memories to give you happiness." Chakwas looked her over once more. "Now rest. I'll call Tali."

00000000

Two days later Shepard was healed. The Illusive Man called her to the briefing room before Shepard was able to speak with Miranda privately.

"Shepard - we caught a break. I intercepted a distress call from a turian patrol. They stumbled onto a Collector ship beyond the Korlus system. The turians were wiped out. But not before they disabled the Collector vessel. I need you to board that vessel and find information about the Collectors. Find us a way to get to the Collector home world."

"I find it hard to believe the turians could knock out a collector ship. How did they manage it?"

"Reports indicate the hull remains intact, but all systems seem to be offline. They could be repairing as we speak. I'm not saying it won't be dangerous, but we can't let an opportunity like this pass us by."

"Are you sure this information is good?"

"Information is my weapon, Shepard. It's good." Shepard gave him a dubious glance.

"Send me the coordinates and I'll check it out." Shepard was still baffled about a turian patrol disabling a collector ship.

"Already sent. Once you're aboard the Collector ship, establish an uplink with EDI. She'll mine their data for information regarding the omega 4 relay. Good luck Shepard."

Shepard left the briefing room. She had an urge to wipe her hands off. She always felt like she needed a shower after talking to the Illusive Man. She briefed her team in the common crew area.

"Alright team, we have a disabled Collector vessel to infiltrate. God knows how a turian patrol managed to disable it. We don't know what it looks like inside, and we don't know if there are hostile forces to overcome. The ship is offline, but we don't know how long it takes to get back online. This looks suspicious, so everyone's going to need to be on their toes. Tali and Grunt, I need you on this one." Shepard wanted a tech expert and some muscle on this kind of mystery mission.

00000000

Shepard was frantic. Things had gone to hell in a hurry. First, the collector ship had woken up and powered up. Second that damned Harbringer had joined in on the fun. Third, and the final straw, was that Tali had been hit in the back by a Praetorian while attempting to keep the Harbringer away from Shepard.

"Shit, shit, shit!" Shepard said when Tali crumpled. "Grunt! Take Harbringer out! I'll take care of the Praetorian!" Out came the particle beam weapon.

"You got it!" Grunt sprinted across the cavern leaping over barricades and fallen collectors alike. The Collector ship was a maze of hive-like tunnels with occasional spartan walls of technology. There were low barriers and captured personnel pods strewn about. The ceiling was covered with more of the pods in a pattern reminiscent of honeycomb.

"Alright you bastard. Let's see how you like this." Shepard waited until its shield kicked off and let the Praetorian have it straight in the face. She was behind a barrier on an upper platform with a good angle. As with the Praetorian on Horizon, she was going to have a couple particle beam/shield/smash cycles to bring it down. Unfortunately it was nearing Tali's inert form and Shepard didn't want the Praetorian to drop on her. She was going to have to move. She watched Grunt bowl Harbringer over, and briefly wondered if he was getting burned.

Shepard bolted down a slope to a barrier along one of the side walls and kept the Praetorian following her, away from Tali. _Please be alright, Tali._ She wasn't far enough around the cavern yet. The Praetorian was still on a trajectory to hit Tali. "Damn it!" She was going to have to get to the other side of the large room. There was a long stretch to the next barrier. She wasn't sure if it was too close to Tali to wait for the next blast. _This is going to hurt._

Shepard took a quick glance at Grunt. He was smashing a couple husk heads together. Normally she would have smiled at the sight, not now. Shepard took off. The Praetorian shifted direction and beamed her the entire way to the next barrier. She felt a sharp pain in her shoulder the instant her shield gave way. She dove behind the barrier and slid to a stop. She pulled herself up into a crouch and peeked over the barrier. Her arm was still functional, even though it hurt like hell. She saw the Praetorian smash down well away from Tali. _Good, now let's ruin this thing._ As soon as it popped back up Shepard was all over it. In a few seconds it was down. A few seconds later she felt the blood trickling down her arm.

"Grunt, I've been hit. Grab Tali and I'll clear the path off this fucking ship! Be careful with her back."

"You got it!" He picked Tali up with minimal back contact and started following Shepard off the ship.

Shepard was a freight train. Shockwave was liberally used. Husks were flying against the walls and collectors were finding either end of a shotgun in their face. The entire time thoughts of Tali were running through her head. _What was it she said about suit punctures? Any hole is risky? What about a hole the size of her back? Could the Normandy set up a germ free environment in the med bay? How much antibiotics did we have on board? Did Tali have a spare suit on board?_ Shepard made a mental note to stop by the Citadel and pick up another.

"EDI, patch me through to Dr. Chakwas! "

"Done, Shepard."

"Doc! Tali's been hurt, badly. Her suit is completely gone on her backside. Do we have anything to keep her protected while she heals?"

"Shepard. We have a procedure to bring the entire medical bay into a clean room rating of 10k. It's at least as good as her suit. I'll set it up. It means I'll be wearing a haz-mat suit while in the area, and the entrance will have an air-lock."

"Thanks doc. I've also been hurt, not nearly as badly. You can treat me in my cabin once Tali is stable."

Miranda interrupted "Shepard can heal in my cabin. It's closer to medical."

A shiver ran through Shepard. She shook her head to refocus. "Thanks Miranda. Doc, do we have anything to transport Tali from the airlock to medical?"

"We'll do the best we can, but Joker tells us we do not have the time for proper transport. We are taking off the instant you get on the ship. I have a sterile blanket for her back, it will keep her as protected as possible with our truncated timeline."

They reached the last hallway. They saw light from the shuttle. Joker was yelling something about leaving now.

They arrived at the shuttle. Shepard pulled off her torso armor and her shirt. She gently placed her shirt over Tali's back. Sitting now in only her undershirt, she held Tali's hand, concerned only for Tali. Grunt looked at the blood pouring down her arm, but said nothing. The shuttle returned to the Normandy just in time. Joker engaged the jump drives as soon as they were back.

Shepard accompanied Tali to the door of the medical center and released her to the doctor. Then she marched straight into the briefing room. EDI had notified her of the suspect nature of the 'turian' distress call, and she wanted to discuss it with the Illusive Man.

"There's no way you thought that signal was genuine! You sent us into a trap with no warning!" Shepard was livid.

"I was confident in your abilities. You did get the information we needed."

"And if we lose the top tech expert in the galaxy? You think I won't sever your connection with this ship? I know about your surveillance. If you ever selectively omit crucial information again I will disappear." Shepard hissed. If the Illusive Man noticed the blood pouring down her arm, he did not say.

"Without that information we don't make it through the omega 4 relay, and we don't defeat the collectors. Is that what you want?"

"You don't trust me with vital information, why should I trust you for anything? EDI, cut the connection. The Illusive Man is not to be given any information until I say so."

"Yes, Commander."

00000000

Miranda was stunned. Cerberus had protected her since she escaped her father. They had assisted her with her sister whenever necessary. She didn't agree with the xenophobic segment of Cerberus, but she had been treated with respect and dignity even when dealing with that group.

Yet now Shepard was severing their connection and threatening to go rogue, and she didn't disagree with her. It was a serious breach of trust to send someone into an obvious trap and not mention it. Did the Illusive Man seriously think the collectors had surveillance on the Normandy? Now he was requesting her assistance in monitoring the Normandy after Shepard cut him off. He wanted a response immediately. Miranda decided to sit on the message for the time being. Had she been on the infiltration team she would be very angry. She took a few minutes and killed the audio and video feeds she knew about. There were most likely other feeds she didn't know about, but it was a start.

Just then Shepard arrived, looking pissed and bleeding profusely. "Shepard. Have a seat." Miranda pointed to her chair. She guessed Shepard didn't realize it, but she was only wearing her undershirt over her torso, and her full armor elsewhere. Miranda helped Shepard remove the rest of her armor.

"Shepard. This is pretty bad. I can't believe you went to a meeting with the Illusive Man in this shape." The Praetorian had sheared off a chunk of Shepard's gun shoulder. Miranda applied pressure to the wound, and opened communication with Dr. Chakwas.

"Doctor, I know you're busy, but I need some bandages to bind the Commander's wound. Do we have any outside the medical center?" Miranda waited a minute for a response.

"Miranda, check the port storage area...Grunt's area."

"Thanks Doctor, I'll do that."

"I've got it Miranda." Kasumi responded over the comm link. "You'll have them in less than a minute."

Kasumi arrived and helped administer the bandage and some painkillers. They wiped the rest of the blood off her arm. Shepard didn't appear to notice. Miranda could tell she was still furious. She was practically vibrating. Miranda needed to get her calmed down and resting.

"Shepard, let's get you lying down." Miranda said.

"Not until I hear about Tali." Shepard was adamant.

"You need to rest. It's going to be awhile before we hear anything from the Doctor. Please, Tali is in good hands."

"I'll wait."

"Shepard," Kasumi cut in, "you need to rest or you won't be able to give Tali a proper hug when she's better. Now, come on..." She grabbed Shepard's good arm and hoisted her out of the chair. Miranda helped as best she could without touching Shepard's wounded arm. They guided her back to Miranda's bed, turned her around, and gently pushed her down to the covers.

Shepard tried to get back up. "But..." Miranda put her hand on Shepard's chest and pushed her back down, then laid down next to her on her healthy side. Shepard tried to get up again. "I don't want to bleed on your bed."

Miranda pushed her back down, and left her hand on Shepard's chest. "Stay down, I knew what I signed up for when I volunteered this room."

Shepard became aware that she was lying on Miranda's bed, with Miranda lying next to her. A flush rose to her cheeks.

Kasumi looked down at the two of them with a growing smile. "Alright, everything appears to be in their proper place here. I'm going to see what I can about Tali. Miranda, make sure she stays put."

"All under control, Kasumi." Kasumi walked out. Miranda pulled Shepard's good arm around her, and leaned her head on Shepard's unhurt shoulder. Then she put one of her legs over Shepard's. "You're not going anywhere." Little did she know, at this moment Shepard didn't want to be anywhere else in the universe.

00000000

Kasumi walked over to the medical center and peered through the glass. Garrus and Thane were already watching. Dr. Chakwas was covered in a white suit from head to toe, with a face mask and its own on board air supply. Kasumi let out a gasp when she looked at Tali. Tali was face down on the operating table with her head towards the door. Doc had cut away the torso section of Tali's suit, and the exposed area looked awful. The skin was gone over her entire back, and bone was showing in a couple spots. The doctor was laying some sort of synthetic skin over the wound to protect it. Tali appeared to be awake, her hand was clenching and unclenching as the waves of pain hit. Kasumi guessed the painkillers hadn't kicked in yet.

"How's Shepard?" Garrus asked.

"She's fine, better than fine actually. Her wound is ugly, but not life threatening. Miranda is keeping her horizontal... and preoccupied."

Garrus chuckled. "It's about time those two got together. The sexual tension was bleeding off onto everyone else on the ship." He paused and the somber mood returned. "They won't let me go in, those suits aren't made for turian physiology."

"Or drell." Added Thane.

Kasumi's head jerked towards Garrus. "But I could!?" She hadn't even thought it was allowed. _Damn it! Why didn't I ask?_

Garrus nodded. "Yea, you just go in that temporary airlock they have set up and put on one of the suits. Doc could probably use your help."

"Ok, I'm going in. You two make sure Shepard does not leave Miranda's room, she's still simmering from her conversation with TIM."

"Will do. Do what you can for Tali." Garrus answered. Thane nodded in agreement.

Kasumi bolted into the airlock and sealed the door.

"Doc, I'm coming in."

"Strip down to your underclothes before you put on the suit, these things are hotter than the jungle. And make sure you turn on the microphone, sound doesn't travel well through these things. I'll activate the airlock purge as soon as you're ready."

_Ok then. Anyone watching is going to get an eyeful._ Kasumi stripped off her hoodie suit. At least she decided to wear underwear this morning. She went completely without about half the time, and she never wore bras. Her suit kept her well supported. Doc glanced over at Kasumi and saw her almost complete lack of clothing.

"My goodness Kasumi! I apologize. I didn't realize you don't wear much under that suit of yours."

"Just doing my part for crew morale, Doc." She pulled on the hazmat suit and sealed up the seams, then started up the air system and mic. "I think I'm ready, doc."

"All right, show me." Chakwas walked over to the door. "Turn around." Chakwas looked her over front and back. "Is your air on?" Kasumi nodded. "Spin yourself around and I'll start the purge cycle."

Fans kicked on and blew against Kasumi's suit while she turned in a circle. Next the air was purged from the little airlock, which was quickly replaced by highly purified air. A quick flash of ultraviolet light and the door to the med bay opened.

"Thanks for coming in, Kasumi. First, talk to Tali and see how she's doing. She might want to know how Shepard is. Don't touch her back."

Kasumi crouched down beside Tali and took her hand. She looked into Tali's face and could see she'd been crying. There were teardrops on her visor. "Hey Tali, how are you doing?" She rubbed Tali's hand.

"Thanks for coming to see me Kasumi." Tali sniffled. "This really hurts. Now I know how Shepard felt when she got hit in the back by the colossus. By the way, how is she? I heard she'd been hurt getting me off that ship."

"She's not bad. The Praetorian nailed her on the shoulder right before she blew him up. I helped bandage her shoulder. She wanted to come see you, but she needs to heal. I'd anticipate a visit within the next day. Grunt says she turned into a juggernaut after you were hurt. He just had to follow behind and stay out of the way."

"Good. I don't want her badly hurt on my account, again." Tali tightened her grip on Kasumi's hand. Tears continued to drip on her visor.

"Doc, can you do anything to take the edge off the pain?"

"It's already done, though it takes longer to kick in for quarians. It shouldn't be too much longer." Dr. Chakwas answered. "Keep talking to her."

"Garrus wanted to come in and say hi, but they don't have a suit that would fit him."

"What a shame. By the way Kasumi, you look pretty good under that suit of yours."

"Oh no! Now you're trying to get into my pants too?" Kasumi pulled back in mock indignation.

"No, just offering a sleeping partner. If Shepard and Miranda become a couple I don't think she'll need me anymore, and I really enjoy it. Sleeping with someone is nice." Tali was starting to drift off. Kasumi guessed the drugs were kicking in.

"We'll see, Tali. I'm going to stay here and hold your hand. Let me know if you need anything."

"Thank you Kasumi. I appreciate this."

Once Tali had drifted off into semi-consciousness; "Doc, how's she doing?"

"The wound will heal. The real danger is infection. The entire lab was hit with an ultraviolet laser to kill anything in the air and on all surfaces. This synthetic skin I put over her back should help as well, but she was exposed to unclean air in the shuttle and in the ship before she got to the medical center. Supposedly a small puncture is a risky situation, and this coved her entire back. We'll just have to see. I did inject her with a healthy dose of antibiotics, and she kept on her mask."

Kasumi brought a chair to the bed where Tali was sleeping and sat down. She opened a comm link to Garrus. "Garrus, have someone bring up Tali's spare suit. And have Joker head to the Citadel. I'd like to steal a really nice suit for Tali, though Shepard will probably insist on paying for it."

"Roger that Kasumi. Thane will be on Shepard watch." He started towards the elevator. He was going to get Tali's spare suit himself. On the elevator he contacted Joker with their new destination.

00000000

"Commander, Garrus is telling me to head to the Citadel. Do I assume this ok by you?" Joker wasn't used to receiving destinations from anyone other than Shepard or Miranda.

Miranda picked her head off Shepard's shoulder and looked her over. She was out cold. The painkillers had done their job finally. _Why did Garrus want to go to the Citadel? Probably another suit for Tali. Shepard would definitely agree to that._

"Joker, head to the Citadel. Shepard is sleeping."

"Aye, Aye, XO. Joker out"

Miranda laid her head back down and snuggled into Shepard. She immersed herself in Shepard's post-battle musky scent. She definitely didn't see herself as the snuggling kind, yet here she was, happy and content nuzzling into Shepard's neck.

She had a quick, disturbing thought. "EDI, I want you to do a complete search of all surveillance footage, and make sure none of it leaves this ship. Also, if you can, search for any footage and transmission that might be outside your systems."

"Underway, Ms. Lawson..." few second pause, "there were feeds from most rooms in the ship being transmitted every couple minutes. They are now cut off. A report of their nature and locations has been transferred to your data pad. The second part of your request will take longer. I will conduct an analysis of the ship and all external transmissions for the next twenty four hours."

"Thank you EDI." She thought for a few seconds. "Was this room under surveillance?"

"Yes, Ms. Lawson. The last transmission was 5 minutes and 23 seconds ago."

"Damn it! Asshole! So much for trust." Shepard stirred, but did not wake. Miranda quieted down. "Thank you, EDI." She counted to ten to calm herself down. "Do you know what music Shepard likes when she's trying to relax?"

Soothing electronic music filled the room. Miranda thought it was nice. She nuzzled back into Shepard's neck and gave her a kiss. She paused, then rolled her eyes at herself. _Damn it, I really am falling in love with her_.

A few minutes later Dr. Chakwas came in with her field kit.

"No, don't get up." She said when Miranda started to get up, "you'll probably wake her. I just want to take a quick look." She walked around to the other side of Shepard and inspected the bandage. She peeled back an edge and looked at the wound. Shepard whimpered a little in her sleep. "Not a bad job, Miranda." She reattached the bandage. "We'll replace the bandage when she wakes. Give me a call when she does." She took a step back and smiled. "Such a cute couple. You take care of her, she doesn't know how to care for herself. She's one of those rare leaders who care only for others. They usually don't live long."

Miranda spent a long time staring at Shepard after the doctor left. Very much in love, and very nervous about the prospect.

Author's note: Thanks to everyone who reviewed. The responses have been more positive than I expected. I am taking the criticisms to heart and attempting to add more detail to flesh things out.


	10. Chapter 10

Angel

Chapter 10

Bioware owns the rights to all characters within.

Shepard awoke in Miranda's arms. If anything, Miranda was more tightly wrapped around her than she was when she went to sleep. _Ah, to wake up like this every morning. _Her shoulder was aching, but bearable. Shepard's de-stress music was playing softly, apparently EDI had been giving Miranda her secrets. Shepard wondered how Tali was doing, but didn't want to disturb Miranda. Not to mention, she was really enjoying her current situation.

"EDI" Shepard whispered, "Can you monitor Tali's respiration and heartbeat?"

"I can monitor anything Commander. Tali's breathing is strong, her heartbeat is as good as one can expect when missing a large portion of ones back. She's in a rem cycle at the moment, and the synthetic skin on her back seems to be helping immensely. According to Dr. Chakwas she has a couple minor infections, and she is working on a focused antibiotic for them. Kasumi is with her, though she is not enjoying the protective suit she has to wear."

"Thank you, EDI. I guess I should stop by sometime."

"Be advised that Dr. Chakwas forbid you from entering the medical center for at least 8 more hours."

Shepard growled under her breath. "Thank you, EDI."

She looked down at Miranda. "I guess it's just you and me, then." She kissed Miranda on the head, then let her head fall back to the pillow.

00000000

Kasumi woke in the med bay with a crick in her neck. "Ouch."

"Kasumi? Are you all right?" Tali asked from beside her head.

"I might need some of those drugs they've been giving you." Dr. Chakwas entered through the airlock.

"Alright you! Out! You've been in that suit too long. Go out and take a break." Dr. Chakwas made shooing motions with her hands.

"See you later Tali. Doc, give me a call if she needs me." She gave Tali's hand a squeeze. "Maybe Shepard can take a shift later."

"Do you think so? That would be great!" The excitement jumped in Tali's voice. Luckily the painkillers were still working.

"Doc?" Kasumi asked Chakwas.

"Maybe. I need to take another look at her shoulder."

"Always the cautious one, Doc. Well, here's to hoping." Kasumi left through the airlock, making sure to stick her tongue out at Tali when she was back down to only her underwear. _Now to see what Shepard and Miranda are up to._

Shepard and Miranda were doing what all overachiever couples eventually do; one was sleeping and one was working. _Though they usually take a little longer to get to this stage._

Miranda waved her into a chair while she dealt with an absolute litany of messages from the Illusive Man, and she was enjoying herself more than she thought she would. Being the rebel was a pleasant change.

_TIM - It is irresponsible for you to cut all surveillance of the SR2. What would happen if something went wrong?_

_Miranda - You, as usual, would be too far away to make any meaningful contribution. Spying in my personal cabin was a step too far._

_TIM - You know I only review relevant dialog for analysis, though it is well within my rights to review everything that happens on that ship._

_Miranda - Do I? I may be one of very few people who have met you in person, but that in no way translates to knowing you. And your rights on this ship translate to absolutely nothing if the entire crew would follow the commander into the fires of hell, and would rather shoot you than talk to you._

_TIM - Do not underestimate me. You know how easy it would be to allow your father to see information about your sister._

_Miranda - Now you're threatening me? You really know how to inspire loyalty in your troops. I'm beginning to wonder how many of those human genetic modification stories are true. It appears you've been sheltering me from your true nature._

_TIM - Miranda, don't try my patience. Everything I've done has been to further humanity's dominance in the galaxy._

_Miranda - At what cost? The very things that make us human? You might as well replace us all with robots._

Miranda shut down the link. "That man is really starting to annoy me."

"Yay! Miranda joins the rest of us mere mortals!" Kasumi stated with a big smile.

"Quiet you." Miranda gave her a glare that seemed more play than serious. Kasumi considered that being with Miranda would make the Commander happy. She didn't think about the relationship effects on Miranda. Thawing the Ice Queen was a nice side effect. _This could prove even more beneficial than I thought._

"How's she doing?" Kasumi asked.

"The wound is healing nicely, the doctor will be along soon to replace the bandage."

"And then we'll find out if she can visit Tali in med bay. Tali is very anxious to see her, probably to apologize for being a burden, or some such nonsense." Kasumi paused. "And how are you two doing?"

For a few seconds it appeared Miranda might not answer. She looked at Kasumi, then seemed to make up her mind. "I don't know. I'm inexperienced with relationships in general, new to relationships with women, and concerned about a relationship with a superior officer. But I really do care for her, a lot. Add to that my entire worldview and Cerberus loyalty flipped upside down by this stubborn woman, and I'm a little bit lost." Kasumi thought she might be tearing up.

Kasumi leaned forward and looked straight into her eyes. "Miranda, you are not lost. You are found. That woman would move heaven and earth to keep you safe and make you happy. All you have to do is let her."

Dr. Chakwas walked in, and wasn't sure what to think about Miranda with tears in her eyes, or Kasumi's aggressive posture.

"Understood?" Kasumi asked Miranda. She nodded. "Good. Help doc with her. I'm dying for a shower." Kasumi left.

"Do I want to know?" Asked Dr. Chakwas.

"Kasumi was giving me... relationship advice." Miranda had the good grace to look embarrassed.

Dr. Chakwas gave her an astonished look, then quickly shifted back into doctor mode. "Ok, let's get started on Shepard's bandage. Wake her gently, and try to keep her from moving that arm." She opened her field kit to pull out supplies.

Miranda sat down next to Shepard, and shook her gently. "Shepard. Wake up." No response. "Shepard." She shook harder. She felt Shepard's good arm snake around her rear. "Shepard!" Miranda grabbed her hand and pulled it back in front of her.

"My angel returned." Shepard said. "Lay back down with me." She pulled Miranda's hand to her face and kissed it.

"Shepard, Dr. Chakwas is here to redo your bandage."

Shepard eyes opened at last. "Darn." She tightened her grip on Miranda's hand. "Alright doc, bring your worst."

"Into the chair, Commander. This will be easier there." Chakwas said.

"Urgg..." Miranda helped pull her up with her good arm. Shepard walked over and sat down in the chair. Chakwas started pulling off the bandage.

"Doc? How is Tali doing?"

"Better every hour. Her back is regrowing very well, and she's gotten away with relatively minor infections so far. It will still be at least a week till she can rejoin the crew. She asks about you frequently." She finally got the rest of the bandage off. Shepard winced. "Very good. Let me redo this bandage and I'll take you over to see her."

"Really! That's great! I really want to talk to her!"

"Good, she really wants to talk to you. Though make sure you wear some proper underclothes. You will be changing into a sterile suit in a glass airlock. Kasumi was only wearing panties underneath her hoodie suit. It must have been embarrassing for the poor dear."

"That would be a sight to see."

"Yes, it was. Kasumi is a fine figure of a woman. Tali seemed to enjoy the sight as well." Chakwas continued applying the new bandage.

"Anything I should know before I go in there?"

"Tali is in much the same situation you were not long ago. Face down on a bed with her head to one side. She's still wearing her mask and the lower portion of her suit. The torso section has been cut away. I've placed some synthetic skin over her back to protect it. Her own skin will grow back under it, once the rest of her back heals. She did lose a portion of the muscles in her back. They are regrowing. We have another suit for her, but we can't put her into it until she's at least 95% healed. Which means we're stuck with the medical bay in clean room status until she's that far healed. I would avoid any combat situations for a week."

"Garrus directed us to the Citadel. I assume to pick up another suit for Tali." Miranda cut in.

"That's a really good idea. Tell Garrus I want in on that. Let's find her the best suit they have...with extra armor in the back." Shepard gritted her teeth when the doctor sprayed her wound with something.

"You can tell him yourself when we head over to the medical center. He's been holding a vigil outside the glass. He can't go in because we don't have a suit to fit him. He talks to Tali when there's no one in with her. I get the feeling they're going to be an item someday." Chakwas continued sealing up Shepard's wound.

"Good for them. Miranda, let the crew know they're on shore leave once we get to the Citadel. TIM can go fuck himself. If we're lucky the collector ship will spend the next week looking for us."

"Right away, Shepard."

Chakwas finished up the bandage. "There we go. Let's go see Tali. Do you have suitable underclothes on?"

Shepard chuckled. She was already in her undershirt. "Yes doc, there's nothing scandalous under this." She leaned over and kissed Miranda on the cheek. "See you later, Angel. We still have things to discuss." Miranda blushed.

"Shepard!" Garrus yelled when she came out of Miranda's office with Dr. Chakwas. Miranda stayed in her office to send out the shore leave notice.

"Garrus! Good to see you buddy!" Shepard walked over shook his hand with her good arm. "How's our favorite quarian holding up?"

"She's doing much better. Thank goodness this ship has a clean room set up available. She hasn't had many infections at all. She's a little loopy from the painkillers and antibiotics, but it would be worse to see her in a lot of pain. Apparently she was in very bad shape when she first got here, and the painkillers took a while to kick in." Garrus looked down at his hands. "I wish I'd been there. I keep thinking I could have prevented it somehow. I know it's folly, Grunt is better with the husks, and from what I understand he tackled the Harbringer. That would have been great to see." The thought brought a smile to his face.

"It's not your fault, Garrus. I'm to blame if anyone is."

"Don't even say that! There's no way you could have predicted the ship would start back up. You needed the best techie we have, that is Tali. Now get in there and say hello. Don't let her apologize to you." Garrus pushed her towards the door.

"Yes Garrus. Talk to you later." Shepard went into the airlock and Dr. Chakwas helped her into the suit. Shepard was wearing the normal racer back bra and boy shorts she always wore under her uniform.

Tali started talking the instant she left the airlock. "Shepard! I'm so glad you're well enough to visit. Thank you so much for coming. I wanted to..." Shepard cut Tali off.

"Tali, don't even attempt to apologize! You have nothing to apologize for." Shepard held Tali's hand in both of hers.

"But you got hurt because of me!" Tali sounded like she was about to cry.

"And you got hurt because of me. So put it out of your mind." Shepard held Tali's hand to her chest. "You are still one of my very favorite people, and I look forward to doing all the things we do together; work, play, even sleep." Chakwas had the good sense to start reading instruments.

"Shepard, you're the best, though you probably don't need me to sleep with any more. From what Kasumi tells me, you and Miranda are quite the item."

"We are an item, but I don't think we're quite to that point yet. Last night was only because I got hurt, I don't see it as an ongoing thing, not for a while anyway. Relationships are still completely foreign to Miranda, and I'm going to need to take it slow. Speaking of which, are you and Garrus an item now?"

"We're really good friends at this point. Maybe if we met outside of work...I know! We should double date! Dr. Chakwas mentioned that we were going to be at the Citadel soon. Maybe we can go as soon as I am able to wear my suit?" Tali was obviously excited by the prospect.

"Sounds like a plan to me, though I'll need to ask Miranda."

"Done, it's a date." Miranda said through the comm link. Shepard spun towards the window. Miranda and Garrus were standing outside the windows with smiles.

"Please tell me you just got there..." Shepard put her hand on her forehead.

"Spend all the time you need with Tali, then come see me. We're going with Garrus and Kasumi to pick up a new suit for Tali tomorrow. Get well soon, Tali." Miranda closed her comm link and headed to her office.

"A new suit! But they're really expensive!" Tali exclaimed.

"Yes, and I'm the reason you're missing one." Shepard stated, still holding Tali's hand. "I'm going to get you a new one. It's too bad you won't be there to model them for us."

"Violet still your favorite color, Tali?" Garrus cut in.

"Well, yes but this is really unexpected. I'm overwhelmed."

"Then it's decided. We'll show you what we got tomorrow. For now, rest up. We'll need you well soon for your date!" Shepard took a seat, still holding Tali's hand.

As expected, Tali didn't know what to say.

00000000

Several hours later Tali was resting peacefully. Samantha left through the airlock and walked across to Miranda's office. She found her working on her terminal. She took a seat in a chair and waited for her to finish.

After a few moments Miranda shut down her terminal and got up. She walked around her desk and leaned against it to face her. "Shepard. I'm not exactly sure how to handle...us. You have me at a loss. I avoid relationships in general because they interfere with work and cause conflicts. I also would have considered myself heterosexual until you. And yet here I am with a serious attraction to my supervising officer... my female supervising officer. I thought it might go away if I avoided you and kept things professional, but then you get yourself hurt and it felt like the floor dropped out from under me. So now that I've admitted the strong attraction to myself, I have a question for you."

"Where you stand with Liara T'soni? Am I just a fling to tide you over until she rejoins your squad?"

Shepard got up and walked towards her. "My dearest Miranda. Liara and I were never lovers." She put her arms around Miranda's waist and looked right into her eyes.

"But there were accounts of her sleeping in your cabin.." Miranda said, wrapping her arms around Shepard's back.

"We slept together, but that was all, I swear to you. Liara knew when her mind touched mine that there would be nothing between us. I prefer stronger women, and at that point I was completely infatuated with someone else."

"So why did she sleep in your cabin?" Miranda looked skeptical.

Shepard released her and backed away from her. "Oh, I thought Doc told you all this." She hated discussing her weakness. She pulled her hand through her hair, thinking about how to phrase it. "I get bad nightmares and can't sleep sometimes, you know about that part. Sleeping with someone keeps the nightmares away. Liara helped me out on the original Normandy. I...um...have a similar arrangement with Tali now, though that is obviously on hold now that she's in the med bay." She tried to read Miranda's eyes. "I will cut that off if it bothers you."

Miranda wasn't sure what to think. Culture trained humans to translate "sleeping with" to "have sex with." On the other hand, she had already "slept with" Shepard, so she guessed she'd have to give her a pass on that. "No, you don't have to, but thank you for letting me know."

Shepard continued "Other than some experimentation during the academy, I've never been with anyone. I've never been in a serious relationship. My last crush was so straight you could shoot bullets through her, and I never let her know my feelings. When she died I made up my mind to go after anyone who I liked, no matter the consequences. I'm sorry if I came on too strong." She held her breath, waiting for Miranda's response.

Miranda walked to Shepard and wrapped her arms around the red-head's waist, then looked directly into her eyes. "Breathe Shepard."

Shepard did, then gave Miranda a light kiss on the lips. _She tastes so good. _She wrapped her arms around Miranda. Miranda buried herself in Samantha's red hair and kissed her neck. A shiver ran up Sam's spine. Miranda noticed Samantha's scent was stronger than before, though still very nice. A consequence of her time in the suit in the med bay, Miranda guessed. She enjoyed the aroma for a time, sliding her hands over Shepard's back, then pulled back to speak.

"Shepard..." Miranda started.

"Please call me Samantha."

"Ok...Samantha, we need to take this slow. It's been a while since I was in any kind of relationship." Miranda said, though her body tight against Sam was distracting.

"As you wish, Angel." Sam answered.

Miranda looked up at her. "You know I'm no angel, why do you call me that?"

"You're the first thing I saw when I woke after dying. You brought me back to life. You're my Angel." Sam leaned down and kissed her again.

Miranda thought about it, then gave her approval. "Ok, but if anyone else calls me that, I'll throw them through a wall."

Sam smiled. "I'll spread the word."

"You can sleep here again tonight, but the clothes stay on. We'll see what happens once your shoulder heals." Miranda said.

"As long as you're with me, I will be happy." Sam kissed her again, their tongues intertwining. She just couldn't get enough of the brunette.


	11. Chapter 11

Angel

Chapter 11

Shepard was staring into her closet standing in her underwear. The day of the shopping trip was here, and she didn't know what to wear. This wasn't really a date, but it was a social situation where she would be spending a lot of time with Miranda. She had a little black dress that Kasumi 'procured' for the heist to get Keiji's graybox, but that seemed a bit much for a shopping trip, and might make shopping difficult. The thought of wearing her dress whites crossed her mind briefly, but didn't stay long. She only wore those awful things when she had to, she didn't think Miranda would be impressed either.

Kasumi uncloaked behind her. "Just wear your best casual outfit. We'll get you some sexy outfits while we're there." She paused and looked at her. "And definitely more underwear. Sports bras and boy shorts do not do your figure justice." This was looking to be a very expensive shopping trip.

"Umm. Hi Kasumi. I didn't know you were here. Thanks, and ok." Shepard got into her standard casual outfit. Her shoulder was mostly healed, though it hurt a little to put the shirt over her head. Hopefully Kasumi wouldn't make her try on too much.

"Alright, have a seat." Kasumi pointed towards the chair. Shepard looked confused, but went ahead and sat down. Kasumi walked around behind her, pulled a brush out of somewhere, and attacked Shepard's unruly mane. "You really do have fabulous hair. It's a shame you never do anything with it."

Once Kasumi had her hair in reasonably good shape, she turned the chair around and checked her make up. "Ok, that will have to do. Let's go say bye to Tali."

00000000

"You have to show me what you bought for yourself too!" Tali exclaimed. Kasumi had detailed the list for the shopping trip. They were standing outside the doors to the med bay, speaking to Tali through a comm link. "Your hair looks nice Shepard. I'm sure Miranda will be impressed."

"She is." Miranda walked up with Garrus in tow. She linked arms with Shepard. She was wearing a simple black spaghetti strap top and white slacks, but Shepard couldn't stop looking at her. Miranda gave her a warm smile. She smelled nice too; lightly floral with earthy undertones.

"You look very nice too, Miranda." Tali said through the link.

"Thank you, Tali. We'd better get going. It sounds like our list is getting long." Garrus gallantly put his elbow out and Kasumi took ahold of it.

"Bye Tali! I promise I won't do anything scandalous with your man!" Kasumi yelled as they walked towards the exit.

Shepard finally found some words. "Bye Tali. We'll have a fashion show when we get back." They followed Garrus and Kasumi. Shepard turned to look at Miranda. "By the way, you smell fantastic."

"Thank you. Kasumi let me borrow some perfume. I don't own any." Miranda answered.

Joker's jaw dropped when he saw the two of them. Miranda glared at him. Shepard just laughed.

00000000

When they reached the Citadel Bailey gave them a big smile. "Wow Shepard, I've never seen you out of your armor before!"

"Nice to see you again, Bailey. You've met Miranda?"

"Nice to see you as well, Miss Lawson. You headed up to Purgatory?"

"Not this time. We're on a shopping adventure today; human civilian clothes and quarian suits."

"Then you're in for an expensive trip. Quarian suits are only sold in one store. Head up five floors. You can find human civilian clothes on the same level. Would you like me to arrange transport?" Bailey asked.

"I think we'll be ok walking. Thanks for the help, Captain." They headed towards the nearest stairs with Kasumi and Garrus in tow.

A few floors up they notice a commotion with a volus, quarian, and a C-sec agent. The volus was gesticulating wildly and pointing at the quarian.

"What's going on?" Shepard asked the group.

"I'm sorry, I'm trying to take a statement here." The C-sec agent responded.

The volus piped up "There's nothing to talk about! She stole my credit chit! Arrest her!"

"I did not. Just because I'm a quarian..." The quarian attempted to get a few words in.

"I need you to stop and take a deep breath." The officer cut her off.

"You're mocking me, Earth-clan. Just because the Vol-clan need..." the volus interjected.

"It was a poor choice of words, sir." The officer apologized.

Shepard interrupted "I'll figure this out." She turned to the quarian. "You say you're falsely accused?"

"I was walking to the used ship dealer when he barged into me outside the Srita Foundation. He didn't stop or say he was sorry." She pauses. "A minute later he runs up with C-sec and accuses me of stealing his damn chit."

"Do you spend a lot of time at the used ship dealer?" Shepard asked.

"Yeah. They've got a lot of nice models. I'd like to buy one and take it back to the fleet.."

"A ship would make a great Pilgrimage gift." Shepard offered.

"You know about the Pilgrimage?" She seemed astounded.

"I traveled with a quarian who was on hers." Shepard answered.

"Wow. I didn't think anyone here would do that for one of us.."

"I'll see if I can figure his out." Shepard said.

"Ma'am, this is a C-sec matter. We'll do all that we..."

"If C-sec we're doing enough, I wouldn't be here, would I?" Shepard snapped back, and walked away.

"Shepard..." Miranda started.

"Call me Samantha, we're on leave." She walked towards Srita Foundations, obviously distracted.

"S-Samantha, shouldn't we leave this to C-sec? It's their job after all."

"If they had the man-hours to do a proper investigation I might be more inclined to think they could figure it out. Or, if I didn't think they were as racist against quarians as most of the Cerberus organization." Miranda pulled her arm away from Shepard.

Kasumi hit Shepard in the back of the head. "What?" Shepard was obviously very distracted. Kasumi tipped her head towards Miranda. Shepard looked over and saw the glare. "Ohh...I apologize, Miranda. I don't even consider you Cerberus any more. I just really don't like the prevailing opinion of quarians." She got another look at the glare. "Angel, please." The glare continued. "Let me prove you wrong. I'm going to search the stores here and see if I find the credit chit."

Miranda gave her a look and they walked into Srita Foundations. Shepard didn't think this 'shopping date' was going all that well.

They looked into Sirta Foundations, but it was a dead end. By the time they reached Saronis Applications Shepard thought she was going to be proven wrong, but then something unexpected happened. The proprietor of Saronis Applications remembered the volus and had the chit. Miranda looked embarrassed.

They headed back to the volus/quarian/C-sec group and now Shepard was having a difficult time figuring out how to make this a positive with Miranda, or at least not a negative, as it was now appearing.

She turned to Miranda. Kasumi dragged Garrus off to a nearby display. "I didn't do that to shame you, Miranda. Please don't take it that way. When you see this type of injustice as often as I have, it really gets on your nerves. I'm sorry that my anger focused on you for even a second. Will you forgive me?"

"Shepard.." Miranda started.

"Samantha."

"Samantha, I know more about you than anyone in the universe. I should expect this kind of anti-Cerberus leaning from you. It caught me off guard." Miranda paused for a few seconds. "You have literally turned my world upside down over the course of the last couple weeks. I'm as uneasy as I was when I left my father, and I feel a little lost." Shepard took her hands into her own.

"Miranda, you are the strongest woman I know. I am sorry for throwing your life into turmoil. I know you don't like to ask for help, even when you really need it. But I offer all that I am to help you. If you need an ear, a hand, or a gun I will be there for you." Shepard drew Miranda into a hug. After a minute they broke the hug.

"Now that you have become my world, you better not die on me." Miranda said through wet eyes.

Samantha gave her a smile. "Not today, Angel. Not today. Now let's go deal with these idiots." Kasumi and Garrus rejoined them.

Shepard told the volus the news, "You left your credit chit at Saronis Applications, you can pick it up from the clerk."

"Oh well, the quarian could have stolen it." The volus gave a weak excuse.

"I'll close this event report. But I'll be watching you." Shepard couldn't believe the C-sec response. A gasp from Kasumi duplicated her astonishment.

"What?! You'll be watching the quarian?! She's the only person here who didn't lie. You should be ashamed at yourself. She gets falsely accused by this guy, and you threaten her with vagrancy? What kind of peace officer are you?"

"How about I throw you in jail for obstruction of justice?" This C-sec officer obviously didn't recognize Shepard.

Shepard got right up in his face. "Would you like me to discuss your bigotry with Bailey? I'm sure he'd believe me over whatever lies you'd put forward. You are a pathetic excuse for a C-sec officer." She glared at the officer and the volus. "You should both get out of here." The officer considered saying something, but didn't. The volus and C-sec officer left. Shepard turned her attention to the quarian.

"My name is Lia V'ael. I wish I could give you more than words in thanks."

"Will you be OK from here?" Shepard asked.

"I guess. Most nights I'm eating nutrient paste in a shelter, but I'm surviving. Thank you for your help." She turned to walk away.

"Wait.." Shepard looked at her thoughtfully. "How'd you like to make some money working for us?"

Lia V'ael turned around and looked at her skeptically. "Doing what, exactly?"

"Hear me out." Shepard said "We would like you to model some quarian suits we're looking to buy for a friend of ours, for, let's say several thousand credits." The quarian eyes got wide. "What do you think, Garrus? Close to the same height, about the same build, close enough?"

"Hmm, you're right Shepard, she is pretty close." Garrus started walking around the quarian. "I think Tali is a little wider in the hips, but overall very similar." The quarian looked very nervous at this point.

"So, Lia V'ael," Shepard started, "will you do us a favor and try on some unbelievably expensive clothing for an exorbitant fee, or would you like us to escort you to the shelter for some undeniably tasty nutrient paste?"

"Umm." was all Lia could manage.

"Please, Lia. 5000 credits for a few hours of your time. I guarantee you won't get a better deal anywhere." Shepard pleaded.

"And you'd be doing the savior of the Citadel a personal favor." Garrus added. Shepard gave him a quick glare. She didn't like to advertise herself.

The quarian's eyes got big behind her mask. "What's the name of your quarian friend?"

"Tali'Zorah vas Neema. We need to replace one of her suits."

"You are the Commander Shepard! Of course I'll help you! My grandfather worked with Tali'Zorah's father several years ago! Wait! Is Tali'Zorah hurt? What happened?"

"Tali was hurt protecting me, and her suit was destroyed, but she's going to be just fine. Shall we go?"

"Ok, where are we going?"

"The only decent place is up on the fifth level. They have a hermetically clean chamber for you to change in, and all their suits are top notch."

Lia V'ael seemed almost reverential in their presence. Shepard found her walking behind them in a servant position, and that did not suit her.

"Lia, come up here beside me." Lia rushed to her side. "Is Lia ok, or do you prefer your full name? I get too informal sometimes."

"Lia is fine, ma'am."

"Please don't call me ma'am. I'm not your parent or even that much of an elder. Call me Shepard, or even Samantha."

"Yes, m...Shepard." Lia was still walking slightly behind Shepard.

"Lia, walk next to me. You are not my servant, you are my employee." Lia moved up next to her. "How long have you been at the Citadel?"

"A month now."

"Are you on Pilgrimage or did you leave the Flotilla for some other reason?"

"Umm, I'd like to be on Pilgrimage, but I haven't had any luck locating a ship yet. I left the Flotilla because my parents had too many children. I was sleeping in a room with 3 sisters. My brothers were sleeping in the kitchen."

"I see. Not enough room, no privacy. It must have been rough."

"Yes. One of very few reasons I would leave the Flotilla." Lia looked sad.

"I'm sorry to hear that. I hope the money I give you will help."

"It should. Being able to afford a place to stay would be wonderful, along with a decent meal." They finally reached the store.

"Garrus, you help Shepard with Tali's outfit. I'm going to get some things for Shepard." Kasumi said, giving Miranda a wink.

Shepard blushed, then ducked through the door to the quarian boutique, dragging Lia with her. The store felt pretentious to Shepard right away. There was deep carpeting, lush seating and screens rotating through quarian suits. The chairs and sofas had an old world Victorian style that seemed ridiculous to the soldier in Shepard. The walls were covered in velvet curtains in a rich burgundy shade. Shepard immediately felt ill at ease. If this wasn't the only store selling quarian suits on the Citadel, she would have walked out immediately.

"Hello?" The quarian proprietor looked at the four figures who walked into his store. It was quite an unusual group to be interested in upper scale quarian suits. One quarian with an obvious lower grade suit. One Turian in full battle gear. And two humans in casual clothing, one who was dragging the quarian with her. Lower class prostitute and human lover? The proprietor was shocked to say the least.

The human dragging the quarian spoke to him with authority. "Hello, I'm here to look at your finest fare in a violet shade. Something armored, and possibly something dressy, if you have anything along those lines."

The proprietor quickly recovered from his shocked appearance. The human speaking spoke as if she was used to being followed, but she might be head of a transport vessel for all he knew. His normal clientele had bodyguards and entourages. "You might find our wares a bit on the pricey side, this is an upper scale boutique."

The human dragging the quarian narrowed her eyes. The turian glanced at the human and smiled. "Look mister..." The human started to say something, but the other human female grabbed her free hand and held it.

"Shepard." Miranda squeezed her hand.

Shepard turned towards Miranda, then counted to ten. "Sir, we have more than enough credits to purchase most of this establishment. If there were any other quarian boutiques in this system I would head there right away. As there are not, I am forced to deal with you." Miranda pulled Shepard's hand against her chest. Shepard calmed down.

The proprietor stammered. "Shepard?" _Oh no, not __the__ Shepard. Savior of the Citadel, Commander of the Normandy, and one of small group of people who probably could kill someone with their mind. _The size of his mistake could be measured in orders of magnitude "I...will show you our top of the line suits. Follow me." He led them through a curtain to a back room. There were several screens and a fitting room. "The screens will show our best suits available in violet. They will be made available to your model when you make a selection."

Garrus took a seat in a chair, and Miranda and Samantha shared an oversized chair. Miranda leaned against Sam and put her head on her shoulder. It felt very nice, though slightly distracting. They perused the selections on the screens. They picked out a violet suit with embellished seams and excellent deflection capabilities. The armor in the back was the best in the business. Lia modeled it with enthusiasm. She hadn't worn anything this nice in her entire life. Shepard didn't hesitate to purchase it for Tali.

"Perhaps we can look at some non-armored selections?" The proprietor suggested after Lia left to get changed.

"What do you have?" Shepard asked. The proprietor flourished his hand, and the show was on.

Lia emerged with an elegant suit that had a skirt. It was clingy everywhere but the skirt. Shepard had never seen a quarian suit with a skirt before. The skirt had a long slit up each side and the suit was mostly black. The piping along the seams was purple, and the lining of the skirt was violet. The mask was violet. There were small elegant swirls of purple and violet along the edges of the skirt, and across the chest. The contrast with the black background was striking.

Everyone was staring with their jaws hanging open. Lia would have been self conscious, but she was enjoying the suit too much. She'd never worn a skirt before, so she was swinging it back and forth with obvious glee.

"Oh my." Shepard said.

"Oh yes." Garrus said.

"Oh, dear." Miranda said. She took Shepard's hand and held it in her own, just barely distracting her away from Lia. "Samantha? Remember Tali?"

"Umm... right. Garrus, does this outfit meet with your approval for our double date in a week?" Garrus was on the edge of his seat.

"I would say so, Shepard. Tali will look absolutely stunning in this."

The proprietor added "It would seem miss Lia V'ael made a good choice, she picked this one out especially for you. We can have the two suits ready in a couple hours, they have to be specially cleaned and packaged in a hermetically sealed container. And if I might, I'd like to have a word with miss Lia." Lia walked into the back to take off the suit with the proprietor in tow. They got out of their seats, Samantha re-linked her arm with Miranda, who leaned her head on Sam's shoulder.

After several minutes Lia emerged. She was very excited, and ran up to Shepard and hugged her. Shepard didn't know what to do, other than hug her back. Miranda and Garrus looked confused.

"Shepard! He wants to hire me to model suits for a catalog!" Lia exclaimed after pulling away from Samantha.

"Really! That's great!" Shepard was shocked.

"Thank you so much for everything today! You've made my week!"

"You're welcome Lia. And thank you for modeling the suits for us. Here's the sum we promised." Shepard transferred the credits along with her contact information. "Please contact me if you find yourself in trouble."

"Thank you! Today was awesome! Let me know when you return to the Citadel with Tali'Zorah. I'd love to meet her." They left Lia in the store filling out a modeling contract.

Author's note: Hopefully this shift away from the story is acceptable. I always wanted more clothing options for Shepard and the crew, and it did seem reasonable that they would pretty much shut down the ship if Tali's suit was severely damaged. The original storyline will return in a few chapters.


	12. Chapter 12

Angel

Chapter 12

Bioware owns the rights to all characters.

Kasumi met them outside the store. Shepard noticed she didn't have any packages.

"Couldn't find anything in my size?" She asked.

"No, I've already transferred my purchases to the ship. Now, let's go get you some evening wear. Garrus, think you can distract Miranda with some fancy guns or something?"

"I'm sure we can find something." Garrus said with a smile.

Samantha pulled Miranda around to face her and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. "See you soon." Then reluctantly let go of her hand. Miranda walked off with Garrus, glancing back with a smile.

"Ok, let's see if we can't find you something fabulous." Kasumi took Samantha's arm and lead her to a shop with fancy gowns in the window.

"Kasumi, you don't happen to know Miranda's favorite color, do you?"

"It doesn't matter. We just need to find something that looks good on you. Everything else follows."

"Really? What looks good on me?" Shepard asked.

"You'll see." They entered the establishment.

Shepard looked relatively plain, being a professional soldier. The fading scars on her face didn't help. Kasumi looked a little shady with her hood, but nothing special. She also had lots of skill avoiding attention. The sales associates glaced at them, then looked away, privately hoping one of the other sales associates would handle the obviously lower class clientele. Kasumi dragged Shepard into the back room, where the expensive items were kept. Immediately two of the sales people hopped up and raced after them.

"Ok, cocktail dress, over here." Kasumi grabbed a few dresses in green shades, put them in Shepard's arms, and pushed her into a fitting room.

"Hello?" One of the associates asked. "Can we help you?"

"We've got it covered, thanks." Kasumi continued to look at some of the dresses, picking a few of the longer types and putting them on a hook by the fitting room.

"Are you looking for anything specific?" The sales associate made another attempt. They could tell their initial assessment of the pair was wrong.

Shepard called out from the fitting room "My bra shows with this one, Kasumi!"

"Take it off, Shepard. You don't wear a bra with any of these dresses." Then, to the associate, "Do you have anything not on display?"

"We have a few in the back..."

"Bring out everything slinky and sexy in green, turquoise, and maybe some black." Kasumi said, still looking through the stock.

"Yes ma'am." The sales lady quickly walked out the back.

"Kasumi, this really shows a lot of scars." Shepard said from the fitting room. "And my bandage looks really bad."

"Wear them with pride! Now, come out here." Kasumi demanded.

Shepard sighed and came out. She was wearing a dark green a-line dress with a high front and no sleeves. The dress only came down to mid thigh on her tall form. Her back was bare with criss crossing spaghetti straps. The lone saleslady did a small gasp. Kasumi glared at her. Shepard's scars were clearly visible, along with the bandage on her shoulder. There were light scars over her back, and the deep gash to her arm had left a mark as well. She also had a few scars left over from the Lazarus project. "Wow Shepard, you really do clean up nice. I'm almost jealous. Come on over to the three way mirror." Shepard wandered over. Her eyes were drawn to each mark.

"Kasumi...shouldn't we try to cover some of these up?"

"Miranda has seen them all, don't let it bother you. We could try something with sleeves if you would like, though I get the impression you won't be comfortable unless you can strap a gun to it." She walked over to Shepard and started checking the fit. "Let's see, smooth over the hips and bust. Nice and clingy except the skirt area." She made sure the sales lady wasn't looking and flipped up the front of the skirt. "Those boy shorts have got to go, they're too close to the bottom of the skirt. Lucky for you I already picked up some things to solve that problem." Shepard looked embarrassed.

"Kasumi..."

"All right, go try on the teal number with sleeves." She spanked Shepard lightly as she headed to the fitting room. Shepard gave her a look.

The second saleslady returned with a few other dresses. Kasumi looked through them and pulled a few out of the pile, then shooed the lady away. She hung the additional choices by the fitting room.

Shepard came out wearing the teal dress. It had a deep plunging neckline that went almost to Shepard's waist. The back was completely covered but the skirt was slightly shorter than the last one. It was also clingy everywhere but the sleeves. The sleeves got bigger as they approached the wrists, adding a bit of movement.

"At least this one doesn't show off my scars. This one might be comfortable if it wasn't so form fitting." Shepard said. "Are you sure about this color?"

"Trust me, Miranda will love it. The color sets off your eyes perfectly." Kasumi walked over and checked the hemline and the bust. "This will be awesome if you guys go dancing. Now try on the long black one hanging on the wall there."

The session lasted another hour before Shepard overloaded. Her shoulder was killing her. Kasumi was pleased, they had found several dresses Shepard could wear while her scars healed, and a couple others that would work after her arms were healed. They'd even picked up a couple long gowns, one of which was mostly see through. Shepard's eyes had gotten large when she saw herself in the mirror, there was definitely no option for underwear, it would show through the see through sections on each side. Kasumi had insisted on picking it up. Shepard eventually consented.

Against Shepard's protests Kasumi paid for the entire lot. Kasumi claimed Shepard needed her money for ship upgrades, and she had plenty of money. They arranged for the goods to be delivered to the Normandy and left.

They met Garrus and Miranda at a restaurant for lunch.

Miranda snaked her arm around Shepard's waist and gave her a quick kiss. "Did you have a good time?" She asked.

"Hardly, Kasumi is grueling when shopping. I hope you like what we picked out. Kasumi rattled off all kinds of reasons you will love the dresses, but it was like a foreign language to me."

"She got you in a dress...multiple dresses?! Wow! Good job Kasumi! What did you get?" Miranda said while laughing.

"You'll see the dresses soon enough, Miranda. The question is, do you have any of your own?" Kasumi asked. Miranda and Samantha sat down.

"What? You think Samantha is bored of my body hugging armor?" Miranda quipped.

"Probably not, but it's more trouble to get out of, or into, than a skirt or dress." Kasumi replied with a grin.

"I can hear you. I'm sitting right here..." Samantha interjected.

"True," Miranda ignored Sam, "But if she thinks she's getting into my pants on the first date..."

"Hello?" Samantha said. Garrus chuckled.

"Then you might need your armor. Shepard will only take so much teasing before..."

"Kasumi!" Sam said.

"She better get used to it. I excel at playing hard to get." Miranda replied.

Garrus roared with laughter. Samantha put her head in her hands.

00000000

Back on the Normandy, Kasumi was trying to figure out how to give Tali a fashion show without Miranda seeing. It didn't help that Miranda's office was the obvious place to set up and change clothes. Kasumi was sitting with Tali in the med bay, talking through the issue with her.

"Can't you just tell her to stay away?" Tali offered. She was able to get up and walk around a bit, but most of the day she still had to lay on her chest and stare at the door. She was almost ready to lose the synthetic skin, though the doctor warned her that removing it was going to be painful.

"If I thought she would listen... She knows how to hook into all the surveillance feeds on the ship, and she was pestering me with questions all the way back to the ship." Kasumi could tell Tali was pretty bored. She had been delighted when Kasumi showed her pictures of the armored suit they had bought her, and started tearing up when she saw the fancy outfit she was to wear on her double date. Once she had calmed down and stopped hugging Kasumi, they discussed Shepard's dresses. Kasumi knew the purpose of the fashion show was to distract Tali from her boredom, but she was looking forward to getting Shepard in a dress in front of the rest of the crew. The expressions would be priceless.

"Maybe I could let her see one of the outfits, then send her away with Garrus." Kasumi offered. "By the way, Garrus' jaw just about hit the floor when he saw your new suit."

"Really? That's great! I can't wait to try them on. Doc says I will be well enough to leave the med bay in a few more days. The infections have been very minor, and my back is improving greatly. I've been trying to do some physical therapy to get my strength back, but I can't keep them up longer than a few minutes." Tali was obviously excited about getting up and doing something.

"Good, Tali. Keep it up. We need you up and about to get on with this mission. And, of course, your double date." Kasumi gave her a smile. "Also, Lia V'ael, the sweet quarian who modeled the suits for us, would like to meet you the next time you're in the Citadel. She apparently knows who you are, and her grandfather knew your father long ago."

"You got a model for those suits!? I thought the pictures you took were on a mannequin! That's a really big deal! Quarians can get infections switching suits, even in a purified chamber. How did you convince her to help?" Tali was aghast.

"Shepard did all the work really. Some volus accused Lia of theft and C-sec looked like they believed him. Shepard did a little investigating and proved the volus left it somewhere. Then she gave the C-sec officer a piece of her mind." Kasumi explained.

"That sounds like Shepard." Tali laughed.

"Even that wasn't good enough. Shepard had to drop your name before Lia would agree to it." Kasumi continued.

"Wow. I'll have to meet her just to thank her. That was quite a leap of faith." Tali said thoughtfully.

"I wouldn't feel too bad for her. Shepard paid her very well for her time, and the store owner is hiring her for some professional modeling. I think she's going to be just fine."

"It sounds like Shepard completely turned someone's life around, for the thousandth time. I'll go meet her once I can get out of this place." Tali sighed.

Kasumi sat chatting with Tali for another half hour or so before getting up to leave. "I'm off to initiate negotiations with Miranda, Tali. I'll send Shepard in."

00000000

"So, you will stay off the main deck and away from any surveillance monitor for the duration of the fashion show, and in return you will get a private viewing of one short and one long dress, neither of which will be used for your date." Kasumi was deep into negotiations with Miranda, who was smiling at Kasumi's seriousness.

"Is Tali getting a lingerie show as well?" Miranda tried to keep a serious face.

Kasumi glanced at her and saw the smile peeking through. "No, but if you'd like I could see if Shepard would be willing to give you a show...though she might require a similar viewing for herself as well. And if you don't wear anything under that suit, I'm sure she wouldn't mind." Kasumi smiled.

"Of course I wear something..." Miranda blushed and looked away. "Fine, I will leave my cabin for several hours tomorrow so you can show Tali all the cool things you got Shepard to buy..."

"And you get a private viewing of some of them with, most likely, consent to see what's underneath them." Kasumi winked at Miranda, who rolled her eyes.

00000000

"I really can't wait till you meet her, Tali! She was very accommodating when trying on dresses for us, and she picked out the formal suit personally." Shepard had joined Tali in the med bay and was discussing Lia V'ael with her. They held hands through their suits, enjoying the companionship. Tali wondered how long she would need her now that Miranda was coming around.

"I'll meet her as soon as I'm out of here." Tali looked sad.

"You'll be out of here soon enough." Shepard looked sad too.

"I'm excited about the fashion show! How many outfits do you have?" Tali asked.

"I don't even know. Kasumi was throwing them at me faster than I could change. She even paid for them, though I have no idea why."

"I know why." Tali added without explanation. "What color are they?"

"Green, black, turquoise, and teal. Kasumi didn't even look at any other colors." Shepard added.

"Those colors will look great with your hair and eyes." Tali paused for a minute. "You're going through a lot just to give me some entertainment. I really appreciate it."

"You're worth it Tali. Please don't take any more hits for me." Shepard looked sad again.

"You're worth it too, Shepard. You've saved all of us several times each."

Kasumi interrupted the conversation through the comm link. "Fashion show tomorrow! Miranda has been handled. You owe her a personal viewing of two outfits. I suggest Tali choose those."

"Ooh!" Tali said. "Do you want them to be sexy and revealing or elegant and sophisticated."

"One short and one long dress, so maybe one of each?" Kasumi said.

"Don't get me into trouble with Miranda, you two." Shepard pleaded. She stayed with Tali for a few more hours, then returned to Miranda's. Miranda sent her straight to bed while she worked.

After a little while Dr. Chakwas came in and replaced her bandage.

"Can I take it off tomorrow, doc?" Shepard asked. "We've got this fashion show thing..."

"It should be ok. Your wound is about healed. Just keep the ointment applied." Chakwas answered.

"Thanks, doc." Shepard laid down to sleep.

"Keep a close eye on her, Miranda." Chakwas told her. Miranda knew she wasn't talking about her wound.

"I've got it covered, Doctor." Miranda rotated in her chair with her data pad to continue working while watching Samantha.

After a while, Samantha started making pained noises. Miranda stopped working and changed into her nightshirt, then joined her on the bed. She snuggled into Samantha's hair. Samantha quieted down. Even after all that time in the protective suit she still smelled good. Miranda listened to her breathing until she joined her in peaceful slumber.

00000000

The next day Kasumi was in the med bay "Tali, can you see well enough through the airlock?"

"Pretty much, but I wish I was closer to the door. Can you help me over to the bed closer to the door?" Tali asked.

"Sure!" Kasumi stood and helped Tali up. Tali's back was getting better, but she still couldn't use her muscles to lift herself up. Kasumi held her hand to steady Tali as she walked to the other bed, then lowered her gently onto the bed. Kasumi could tell she was in pain, but it wasn't as bad as it was a couple days ago.

"Better?" Kasumi asked.

"Yes. Thank you Kasumi."

"I'm off to wake the model. It should be an hour or so before we begin." Kasumi squeezed her hand.

"Thank you again, Kasumi. You are a great friend."

"You know it!" Kasumi smiled. "Now, get some rest. We'll wake you before we start." Kasumi left and switched suits. Then headed towards Miranda's room."

"Shepard, get your pretty butt out of bed so I can make you up!" Kasumi said as she strode into Miranda's office. Miranda had left earlier. Shepard mumbled something and pulled the sheets over her head. Kasumi walked up to the edge of the bed. "Come on, Shepard. Time to make you beautiful." No response. Kasumi grabbed the covers and yanked them off the bed. Shepard glared at her. Kasumi gave her a big smile.

"I can't believe I let you talk me into this." Shepard moaned.

"I do believe it was your idea, Shepard."

"Yes, but as my friend you're supposed to talk me out of it." Shepard said while slowly getting out of bed.

"Yes, but I'm also Tali's friend, and it will be good for both of you. She needs something to distract her from her back, and you need to learn how to get your sexy on." Kasumi took Shepard's hand and pulled her vertical.

"Did you really just say 'get your sexy on'?" Shepard gave her an odd look.

"You bet, pretending to be a guy just isn't going to cut it. Every time you're out of that armor, Miranda checks you out."

"Don't lie to me, Kasumi."

"She only does it when you're not looking. Now come." Kasumi dragged Shepard out of Miranda's office and up the elevator. Once they got to Shepard's cabin she pushed her towards the shower. "Shower, and wash the hair too. I put some of my shampoo and conditioner in there." Shepard gave her a look. "No, I am not joining you." Shepard rolled her eyes and started getting undressed. She pulled off her bandage. The shoulder looked red, but not too bad. Kasumi sat down at Shepard's desk to wait.

Shepard emerged in a towel to find Kasumi holding a chair for her. She sat down.

"Good girl." Kasumi said, then started running a comb through her hair.

After half an hour of pulling, prodding, painting, gelling, and little lipstick, Shepard was impressed. "Kasumi, you are the best! Too bad I'm not going on a real date."

"Sure you are. What do you think the personal viewing for Miranda will be?" She gave her a wink. "Now, get your underwear on. The dresses are all waiting for you in Miranda's office." Kasumi faced away from her.

Shepard found her underwear waiting on her bed. There didn't seem to be much material. "Kasumi! What the hell is this?"

"It's a thong. You don't want a panty line."

"No! This isn't underwear! This is a slingshot!" Shepard was appalled.

"Put it on, Shepard. Miranda will love it."

"How? Where the hell does it go?" Shepard was holding it up, acting confused.

"Shepard! Put it on!" Kasumi was firm.

"Alright!" Shepard put it on. It felt weird, but the material was soft. She put her robe on. "Ready."

"Good. Come on." Kasumi held out her arm. Shepard took it and followed her to the elevator.

Kasumi was tempted to stroll Shepard through the lounge where Miranda was working, but she thought it would make a better impression to present 'made-up' Shepard in one of the dresses after the show.


	13. Chapter 13

Angel

Chapter 13

Bioware owns the rights to all characters.

Kasumi whipped off Shepard's robe as soon as they entered Miranda's office.

"Hey! What the..." Shepard said while attempting to cover herself.

"Shush. We're both girls here. You'll need me to dress you if you expect your hair to stay free of static." She pulled Shepard's hands to her sides and looked at her breasts. "Very nice. Miranda's going to love them." Shepard blushed. "Now, which dress would you like to open with?" Kasumi gestured towards the wall, where all the dresses were hung.

Shepard looked them over, then picked out a long black dress with a long slit up one side. Kasumi walked over and pulled it off the wall. The back was mostly bare with a chain that went from her neck to her tailbone.

"Step in Shepard." Kasumi held the dress in front of her, making sure it didn't get wrinkled during the process. She pulled it up once Shepard was in, and attached the chain. "Very nice. We'll have to get you some shoes for your date." Shepard was barefoot. "Let's go show Tali."

Tali was quivering with excitement, but she wasn't sure why. She'd seen women try on clothes before. Maybe it was because it was Shepard, one of very few people she truly wanted to see happy. Or maybe it was because she'd never seen Shepard in a dress at all. Or maybe she was just really bored.

When Shepard stepped into view Tali was stunned. She'd never seen Shepard looking feminine at all, much less the elegant form in front of her now. Kasumi had done excellent work. In her shock she tried to get up. Her back screamed. She winced.

"You all right, Tali?" Shepard asked.

"Yes, don't worry about me." Tali fought back tears for a few seconds. When she opened her eyes again, Shepard was up against the door, looking in. "You look fabulous. Miranda's going to be pleased."

Shepard looked at her, still worried. Kasumi pulled her away from the door, then had her do a little spin. The slit up her leg flashed skin as the skirt flared.

"That slit goes very high, and there's no back at all. How does it stay on?" Tali asked.

Kasumi turned Shepard around. "There's a chain back here to hold it together."

"It will look great if we go dancing." Tali said.

"Oh, we're going dancing." Garrus interjected from across the room. "Looking good, Shepard."

Garrus was sitting at one of the tables in the common area. Most of the crew was away on shore leave. He had run away everyone else on the ship except Kelly Chambers, who was staring at Shepard with wide eyes and open mouth.

"Thanks Garrus, and thanks for running the rest of the crew off." Shepard added. Garrus gave her a nod.

"Next!" Kasumi led Shepard back towards the office.

"Need any help Kasumi?" Kelly Chambers finally found her voice.

"No thanks, Kelly. I've got it covered." Kasumi said as they entered the office. Once the door was shut she added; "Shepard, I think that sweet young thing wants into your pants."

"Oh yes. No subtlety to be found under that shock of hair. She's been dropping hints since I met her." Shepard responded. Kasumi turned her around and undid the chain, then pulled the dress off. Shepard was still a bit startled about being mostly naked in front of Kasumi, but she was one of very few people Shepard trusted with her private self. Seeing herself naked was minor compared to the mental issues she had revealed.

"Let's go with a little more color this time." Kasumi pulled down a dark green cocktail dress with billowing sleeves and very short skirt. "Arms up!" Kasumi slid it over her head taking care not to mess up her hair. There was a deep V in the front and the skirt was tight. "You'll have to watch yourself when sitting down with this one."

"I didn't realize being fashionable took so much work." Shepard said, trying not to sound annoyed.

"Don't even worry about it, that's what I'm here for." Kasumi gave her a smirk, then walked around her slowly, making small adjustments. "Let's go see what Tali thinks of this one."

00000000

Two hours later Shepard and Kasumi were both exhausted. Tali hadn't been able to narrow the choices down to two to present to Miranda, so Kasumi assisted. They picked out a short black a-line dress with criss cross webbing across the back to start. The fabric draped nicely. Shepard was worried about her scars showing, but Kasumi told her not to worry about it. Miranda had seen her in much worse shape.

She was nervous approaching the lounge in the short black dress. Miranda hadn't even been interested in women before Shepard. Maybe she wouldn't like the feminized version of her commander. She started to walk slower the closer they got.

"What's up, Shepard?" Kasumi asked. She took her arm.

"I'm not sure Miranda will like...this." She gestured towards herself.

"She'd be a fool not to, you look great!" Kasumi reassured her.

"Well, yea. But she never really liked girls before me...maybe she doesn't like the feminine look."

"All girls like looking at girls in pretty dresses. How can you be so confident with a gun on your back, and nervous in a slinky dress?" Kasumi asked.

"I'd be better with my armor on."

"She's going to love it. Go on in. I'll be right out here." Kasumi gave her a light push towards the door.

Miranda's eyes got large when Samantha entered the lounge. Kasumi had done very well with her hair and makeup. Miranda put her data pad down and stood facing her. Samantha gave a nervous smile. "What do you think?" She asked. Miranda walked around the chaise and stopped a few feet from Sam. She looked Sam up and down, then started to put her hand out, then dropped it back to her side. She didn't say anything.

"You have permission to touch, Miranda." Samantha said, still nervous.

Miranda reached her arms out and put them on Sam's waist, feeling the material. She traced the few scars she could see on her arms, then moved closer to Sam and wrapped her arms up behind her back, pulling the taller woman down to her. Shepard didn't know what to think. She tentatively wrapped her arms around Miranda.

Miranda pushed her face into Sam's neck, breathing deep. Samantha smelled differently, possibly a new shampoo, but underneath it was still the woman she fell in love with. "It's still you." She said to Sam's neck, which she kissed. Samantha instantly released the tension she'd been holding, and pulled Miranda to her tightly. They stayed like that for several minutes. Finally Miranda pulled back and kissed Sam on the lips. Then Miranda pulled back to look her over again.

"You look great, by the way. I just had to make sure the real you was in there somewhere." Miranda backed up to see all of her. "I think I need to go shopping with Kasumi. Very nice." Miranda circled her, sliding her hand around Sam's waist. The sensation was sending goosebumps up her arms. Miranda got to her back and traced some of the webbing, then returned to her front and kissed her again. She pulled back and leaned against the chaise.

"I believe you have another outfit to show me?" Miranda said.

"Oh! Umm. Yes! I'll be right back." Samantha bolted from the room.

Kasumi grabbed her before she could run all the way to the office. "Whoa there, love struck teenager! Slow down. You don't want to hurt yourself." She linked arms with Shepard and they walked back to the office. "So, I take it she liked it? Your lipstick is smeared."

Shepard looked embarrassed, then gave Kasumi a smile. "Yes, though she had to confirm it was still me under all this."

"She confirmed it was still you?! Wow, she is good. She's going to have you wrapped so far around her finger..."

"Kasumi!"

Kasumi smiled at her. "Come on. Let's get you into the piêce de rêsistance."

00000000

The finale was a tight asari style dress with long skirt, long sleeves, and cut outs on her hips as well as on her chest and back. The pattern flowed over her curves with dark green, black, and thin stripes of bright emerald green. Shepard couldn't even wear her thong with it.

"We're lucky this thing is stretchy. I wouldn't fit otherwise." Shepard said.

"Quiet, you're in great shape, and you just had it on half an hour ago." Kasumi slid the asari dress the rest of the way down Shepard. The skirt flared past the hips, but the rest clung like a second skin.

"Shepard.." Kasumi said.

"What?" Shepard was walking towards the door.

"Thong, off."

"No, I'm finally getting used to it."

"Shepard, we went through this once already. You can see it through the cut outs on your hips. Off."

"Fine." She pulled her skirt up and pulled off her underwear. "I am now wearing a single piece of clothing."

"Miranda will love it. Now go. I will take the rest of your dresses to your cabin. Have a good time. I'll let you know when your rooms are ready."

"Thanks Kasumi."

"Try not to get too excited. Your nipples will show." Kasumi gave her a big smile.

Shepard got red and left.

00000000

This time Miranda's eyes and mouth opened as Samantha entered the lounge. She quickly regained her composure. "Shepard..." Miranda quickly got up and walked towards her.

"Miranda, call me Samantha." She smiled as Miranda walked up and gave her a quick kiss.

"This looks fantastic!" Miranda ran her hands over her hips. Shivers ran down Samantha's spine. "It also feels really nice." She pressed her face against her chest, holding her hands on Sam's hips, sending Sam's heart racing. "And, if I'm not mistaken, you're not wearing anything underneath it." She looked up to Sam smiling down at her.

"It would show if I were." Samantha kissed her on the lips.

"Oh, Samantha..." Miranda buried her face in the cut out between Sam's breasts. Sam thought it was delightful. She resisted the urge to drag Miranda to the nearest chaise and see how hard her suit was to remove.

"We'll go as slow as you need, Miranda. I'm not going to push, but you are getting me very turned on." She held her close.

Miranda pulled back and smiled, looking at her chest. "I can tell." Shepard's nipples were poking enthusiastically through the fabric of her dress.

Shepard blushed, then chuckled, "Technically we haven't even had a date yet." Samantha walked Miranda around to the chaise in front of the window and sat down, leaning towards the arm. Miranda sat down with her and put her head on her good shoulder.

"Shepard..." Miranda started.

"Samantha...Please." Sam interrupted, sliding her arm around her.

"Samantha...I might be slower to act because I'm inexperienced with women, but it's not too fast. It's the mission. Some of us might not make it. All of us might not make it." She paused. "You might not make it." She hugged Samantha around the middle.

"I don't want to lose you either." Shepard answered. "I don't want to lose anyone. That doesn't mean we shouldn't enjoy each other's company while we can. I learned that the hard way." Samantha went quiet.

Miranda turned to look at Sam's eyes, and she saw sadness. She reached up and pulled her face down to her own, looking deep into her eyes. "Would you like to talk about her?"

Samantha smiled through the wetness in her eyes. "Maybe another time. Lay back down, I like to feel you against me." Miranda leaned back against Sam.

Samantha enjoyed the sensation while Miranda thought things through. She realized she hadn't appraised Shepard to her recent interaction with the Illusive Man. "Other than minor information relating to the mission I've cut off all communication with the Illusive Man, and all surveillance feeds have been terminated. EDI even found some that were external to her systems."

Shepard looked at her with wide eyes. "Miss Lawson! I do believe I've been a bad influence on you."

Miranda smiled at her, "I found out he had a feed showing my office. That was step too far for me."

"That does seem a little like putting cameras in the shower." They sat and watched the stars for a few minutes.

Sam asked "Anything you'd like to do on our date? Garrus insinuated dancing would be involved, and I must warn you, my skills lie elsewhere."

"I don't care as long as you're there." Miranda answered.

Kasumi entered the lounge and gave them both a big smile. "Sorry to interrupt, but both of your rooms are available, and Doc wanted me to remind Shepard about the ointment for her shoulder. It probably rubbed off during the fashion shoot. Don't want you to scar now..."

"You're the best, Kasumi." Shepard answered. Miranda started to get up.

"Also, you might consider risking a mission to help out Garrus. He's getting stir crazy on the ship, and his lead is on the Citadel. If someone gets hurt we can visit medical facilities there." Kasumi said as they both got up.

"You're right. Do you want to come with?" Shepard asked.

"Actually..." Miranda interrupted, "I was hoping to borrow Kasumi. I am somewhat lacking in evening wear."

"And I still need to pick up some shoes for Shepard." Kasumi finished.

"OK then. I guess both my girlfriends are going shopping while I go on a hunt to kill a betrayer." Shepard smiled at them.

"I'm your girlfriend?" Miranda asked. She hadn't thought about it much.

"Unless you don't like the term for some reason. I'm definitely yours." Shepard answered.

"I guess I hadn't given it much thought." Miranda thought about it for a minute, considering the implications. "No, it's fine. I am Samantha Shepard's girlfriend." She walked over to Sam and gave her a deep kiss, sliding her hands over the skin tight dress. Kasumi looked away. They were out of breath when they pulled apart.

"Be careful on your mission, Samantha." Miranda said, then walked out of the lounge.

"I'll take good care of her, Shepard." Kasumi said with a smile, then walked out after Miranda.

Samantha headed towards the elevator with a goofy grin on her face.

00000000

"Shepard, step out of the way." Garrus was asking her to move so he could kill Sidonus, the turian responsible for the death of his team. Shepard had been thinking about this since Garrus asked her to help. She thought about her discussion earlier with Thane.

"During your assassinations you would be considered a tool of someone else." Shepard stated.

"Correct." Thane answered

"So, during this mission anything you do falls to me, since I convinced you to join our cause." Shepard continued.

Thane thought before answering. "Partially true, though not completely. I only joined your mission because your purpose is just, and no money was exchanged."

"And now, if I ask you to accompany me on a mission not related to our stated goals at all, with the explicit purpose to kill someone who betrayed one of our other squad mates, does that fall to me?" Shepard couldn't read the drell very well, but she could tell this line of questions was making him think, possibly about something in his past.

"I suppose it would fall to all three of us to some degree, though it would fall most prominently on the person who took the final shot, which I would assume would be the person who wanted the revenge." Thane said at last. "Killing someone before they hurt our friends and loved ones carries more nobility than killing in revenge after the fact, but the sin is still the same. It would be a small drop in an ocean of sin for myself, and most likely everyone else on this vessel."

_That's very likely, though I would exclude a few squad mates. _"Have you ever killed for personal reasons?" Shepard asked.

Thane gets a glazed look. "Laser dot trembles on his skull. One finger-twitch, he dies. Then the smell of spice on the spring wind. Sunset-colored eyes defiant in the scope. The laser dances away." He paused. "My apologies. Drell slip into memories so easily."

"Was that one of your assassinations?" Shepard asked.

"Ah. Yes. Perhaps we can discuss it later. I have wasted too much of your time."

Shepard returned to the present. She briefly considered warning Sidonus, but discarded the thought quickly. What would she think if she had been blocked from killing the batarian slavers who murdered her parents?

Shepard stepped aside. Garrus took the shot, and Sidonus fell. Thane joined her as she left the scene.

"I think I share more than a bit of that one, Thane"

"Possibly, but at least you don't share the burden alone. Come see me if you wish to discuss it further." Thane answered as they headed back to the ship.

Shepard went straight to her cabin once back on the ship. She took off her armor and flopped onto her bed, staring at the ceiling. She pondered the mission until she fell asleep.

00000000

"Miss Lawson, Commander Shepard is in a disturbed rem cycle." EDI announced in Miranda's cabin.

"Thanks EDI." Miranda told the speaker.

Miranda shut down her terminal and changed into her nightshirt. She walked to the elevator and hit the top button.

On the way up: "You got this one, Miranda?" Kasumi uncloaked next to her in the elevator.

"Yes Kasumi, you may go back to sleep." Then after a pause. "Did you hack my account to add yourself to my alerts?" Miranda asked, self-consciously pulling her nightshirt down.

"Would I do such a thing?" Kasumi asked with a smirk, then disappeared. Miranda shook her head.

Miranda approached Shepard's bed upon entry. Shepard's lights were low, and Shepard was facing the wall curled into a fetal position. Miranda crawled under the covers and slid into Shepard. Shepard was stiff and twitching, The instant she pulled close, Shepard calmed. Miranda smiled and inhaled Shepard's scent. Overtaken by sandalwood and jasmine, she drifted off next to her love.


	14. Chapter 14

Angel

Chapter 14

Bioware owns the rights to all characters.

Shepard woke up more comfortable than normal. Her shoulder was healing nicely. Just then she noticed she wasn't alone in bed. _Who is in bed with me? _She turned over slowly to see Miranda. She was elated. She snuggled into Miranda and drifted back to sleep.

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Shepard woke to see that Miranda had left. _I'm going to have to talk to that woman about getting up at a reasonable time. _She pulled herself out of bed and flexed her shoulder. It was feeling better. She would have to visit Tali this morning. She felt guilty for heading straight to bed after the Sidonus ordeal.

"Thane would like to see you, Commander." EDI informed her as soon as she was showered and dressed.

"Thanks, EDI." Shepard headed to the elevator. She wondered if Thane wanted to explore their previous discussion about helping friends in ways that were morally circumspect.

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"You wanted to see me?" Shepard asked as she approached Thane in the life support center. Thane's weapons were lined up next to her on the wall.

"Yes. Now that you are here, though... It seems more difficult to talk about." Thane admitted while not meeting her eyes.

"I've got time. Take it at your own pace."

"Thank you. I fear I've already done that for too long." Thane got up and walked over to his weapon stash. "I had a family once. I still have a son. His name is Kolyat. I haven't seen him in a very long time."

"Did something happen to them?" Shepard asked.

"I abandoned them. Oh, not all at once. Nothing dramatic. No sneaking out in the middle if the night. No final argument or slammed door. I just... Did my job. I hunted and killed across the galaxy. 'Away on business,' my wife would tell people. I was always away on business."

"How long has it been since you talked?"

"Ten years. He showed me some of his schoolwork and asked if we could dance crazy. We did that when he was younger."

"What sort of dance is that?"

"It's ..." Thane switched into memory mode, as Shepard had begun to call it. "I check my extranet contacts. I expect an update on my next target. The console plays music. Old. Unfashionable. Kolyat jumps into the room. 'Hi, father.' Runs around in circles. I scoop him up. Toss him into the air. He shrieks, laughs. 'Spin me.' The console beeps. I put him down. Click the message. 'Father'. He pleads. Tugs my sleeve. 'I need to read this.' I say. I don't look at him."

"You never mentioned this before. Why now?"

"When my wife departed from her body, I...attended to that issue. I left Kolyat in the care of his aunts and uncles. I have not seen him or talked to him since."

"That's not the choice I expected. Why didn't you raise him yourself?" Shepard asked.

"My body is blessed with the skills to take life. The hanar honed them in me. I have few others. I didn't want that life for Kolyat. I hoped he would find his own way. If he hated me, so be it. He would not have shared the path of sin. I used my contacts to trace Kolyat. He has become...disconnected. He does what his body wills."

"What's wrong with him? Is he hurt?" Shepard asked.

"Something happened that should not have. He knows where I've been. Knows what I've done. I don't know his reasons, but he has come to the Citadel. He has taken a job as a hit man. I would like your help to stop him. He is... This is not a path he should take."

"You don't hire a raw rookie for a contract killing." _Unless you're an idiot._

"I'm afraid someone may have seen we share a name, and assumed we share skills. I don't know why he would accept the task."

"To be closer to you, maybe?" Shepard knew what it was like to grow up without parents, and the emptiness that could consume you.

Thane looked down. "That thought haunts me more than any other."

"Let me check on Tali, then we'll head right over."

"Of course. Thank you, Shepard."

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"It doesn't hurt so much, but it itches like crazy." Tali was speaking to Shepard through the comm link. "Doc says that means my skin is re-growing."

"That's great, Tali!" Shepard was elated.

"Doc says two days and I can be out of this place. I really am sorry for holding up the mission so long." Tali was standing on the other side of the bank of windows to medical.

"It's no problem, you're an important part of the team. Also, even though I'm looking forward to our double date, don't rush the healing, we need you at your best."

"I know Shepard. The waiting is excruciating. I think even EDI is starting to get bored with my data requests."

"I always ready for more analysis, Tali'Zorah." EDI cut in. Shepard smiled.

"I'll have another study for you in a few minutes, EDI." Tali shook her head. Shepard let her smile drop.

"I'm sorry I didn't stop by yesterday evening, Tali. The mission to help Garrus was so mentally draining I passed out the instant I reached my cabin. I promise I'll come visit after I help Thane out with his son."

"Thane mentioned you might want to discuss the Sidonis mission. I'm here any time." Tali mentioned.

"Thank you, Tali. We can talk about it later. Did Garrus say anything to you about it?" Shepard asked.

"I haven't seen him yet. It's possible he is thinking through things as well, or he might have had a bit too much turian whiskey last night." Shepard smiled at the last thought.

"I'll come visit once I get back tonight, Tali."

"Good luck with Thane's son, Shepard." Tali said as Shepard turned away from the glass.

00000000

"There we go. One of my men reported a drell recently, and he was talking to Mouse. Interesting." Captain Bailey was reporting on a likely lead for Thane's son. Thane was with Shepard at the Captain's desk. Thane had no idea why Shepard had this kind of influence over the Captain of Citadel security.

"Mouse?" Thane asked. He knew the name, but it was common.

"A petty criminal. Probably not the guy who hired your boy, but a messenger. He's a former duct rat, runs errands for anyone who'll pay. He's usually upstairs, outside the Dark Star. He works out of a public comm terminal. It sounds like your boy is running with the wrong crowd."

"Yes, I agree." Thane affirmed. He wanted to steer Kolyat away from his path.

"If Mouse can't get you in touch with your son directly, he'll know who can. I'll help you if you need it." Bailey said.

"We better hurry, then. Thanks Bailey." Shepard said.

"You didn't tell him that Kolyat plans to assassinate someone." Thane stated once they were away from the station.

"He's a cop. He'd try to stop Kolyat, and one of them could end up dead. I don't want that." Thane's perspective of Shepard was shifting. His original thought of her as a pillar of lawfulness was not aligning with her actions. Though he could tell she was following her own moral compass, she didn't always follow the letter of the law.

"Thank you, Shepard." _You have no idea how much this means to me._

"No problem, Thane."

They reached Mouse as he talked into his comm. It did appear to be the Mouse Thane knew.

"Yeah. Sure. I can get you two cases by the end of the day." Mouse said into his comm link.

"You Mouse?" Shepard asked. Mouse turned around to face them.

"What do you...oh, shit! Krios? I thought you retired!" Mouse turns and looks at Shepard. "Commander Shepard? I thought you died! What do you want with me?"

Mouse eventually let them know who ordered the assassination, in deference to Thane. The client was a lower Zakera ward crime lord called Elias Kelham. Thane could tell Shepard wanted to discuss Thane's connection to Mouse.

"That couldn't have been easy." Shepard said to Thane after Mouse left them.

"Mouse knew more about my life than Kolyat ever did." Then a memory overtook Thane. "He smiles up to me; broken teeth and scabby knees; bare feet black. A dead end future looking up at me. Worshiping the petty gifts I offer. I was the only good thing he had back then. But I left him, as I left Kolyat." Thane looked down in shame.

"Don't blame yourself." Shepard attempted to settle Thane.

"If I don't, who will? We must carry the weight of our decisions, Shepard. You, of all people, know this". Thane finished.

"Yes. Let's head back to Bailey." Shepard said, obviously not wanting to think about it.

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"Yes?" Bailey asked as they returned to him.

"Can we talk about my associate's son?" Shepard asked.

"Did you talk to Mouse? Did you find out who he's working with?"

"Elias Kelham." Shepard said.

"Kelham... shit. Ah, look, this is awkward. Kelham and I have a...an agreement. He doesn't cause too much trouble, and 'buys tickets to the C-Sec Charity ball' from me. In return, I ignore him." _Shouldn't be trouble, unless someone gets killed. If this guy is moving up to assassination, Bailey should revisit their arrangement._

"He pays you off. You were eager to help us before. What about now? Is it too inconvenient?" Shepard had an edge to her voice. Thane remained impassive.

"I said I'd help. It's just...there'll be repercussions if I don't handle it right. He and I...give each other space. It keeps the peace. I'll get some of my people to bring him in and set him up in a private room. You can interrogate him yourself. I'll stay out of sight. If I'm lucky, Kelham will believe that I had nothing to do with it."

"Bring him in. We might not have much time." Shepard said.

"I'll make it happen. Wait here." Bailey took off to order the acquisition.

The interrogation of Kelham went slowly at first, and Thane was worried they might have to resort to violence. Thane thought Shepard was going to hit him a time or two, not that Kelham didn't deserve it. The man was spouting legalese with enough practice that made him look quite guilty. Kelham's advocate arrived and Thane thought they were out of luck, but Shepard handled it masterfully. She convinced the advocate to force Kelham to give up the target to avoid the minor charge of bribing.

They headed to Bailey. "What's the story? Why did Kelham hire the boy?" Bailey asked.

"Assassination. A turian named Joram Talid. You know him?" Shepard said.

"Joram? Yeah. You might have seen his posters around. He's promising to end organized crime on the ward. Thing is, his message is all mixed up in race politics. He's anti human." Bailey answered.

"We need to stop his assassination. Can you get us to the 800 blocks?" Shepard asked.

Bailey turned to a nearby officer. "Sergeant! Get a patrol car. The two need to get to the 800 blocks."

00000000

They reached the 800 blocks and the officer led them to Talid, then headed back to the patrol car.

"There he is. How do you want to play this?" Shepard asked Thane.

"Follow Talid on the maintenance catwalks. Tell me what he's doing. The krogan bodyguard will make him easy to follow" Thane answered.

"Where will you be?" Shepard asked.

"The darkest corner with the best view." Thane answered.

"I will do my best to leave Kolyat unharmed, but I won't let him complete the assassination." Shepard told Thane.

"That is all I will ask of you. Thank you Shepard." Thane answered. Shepard headed to the nearest maintenance door. Thane gave a quick prayer. "Amonkira. Lord of Hunters. Grant that my hands be steady, my aim be true, and my feet swift. And should the worst come to pass, grant me forgiveness."

Thane headed to the nearest ventilation opening, unscrewed the cover, and crawled into the surprisingly large shaft. It was large enough that Thane had more trouble than normal with the vertical climb. Once he reached a horizontal shaft he had no more difficulty. He was almost able to walk through the oversized duct. He asked Shepard for an update.

"I'm on him Thane. He's talking to some voters."

"Understood" He quickly moved to a ventilation grate at the next intersection. He could see Talid through it.

"You're in position?" Shepard asked.

"Yes." Thane answered. "I'm following." Talid was walking down the passageway. Thane watched as Talid and the bodyguard passed by. They were continuing down the same passage.

"Have you got them?" Thane asked Shepard while heading to another grate.

"Looks like he's talking to another voter." Shepard answered.

"Any sign of Kolyat?" Thane asked.

"No." Shepard answered.

"I'm moving to another position, ahead of them." Thane said before he reached another grate further down the passageway. He watched them walk by. "No problems so far." Talid rounded a corner. Thane went through a branching ventilation duct along the new passageway. "No problems so far. Do you have the target?"

"I've got him. It looks like he's shaking down some of the merchants along this route. The bodyguards are doing the dirty work. If Kolyat doesn't pull off the shot I might turn this guy in to Bailey." _Probably not a bad idea._

"Target in sight." Thane said when he reached the next grate. He watched them pass, then continued through the shaft. After a time he asked for an update, then saw everyone. Talid was heading towards his apartment. Kolyat was hanging out near the door looking surly, and obvious. _Dear boy, you are not cut out for this. _If Talid wasn't distracted he would immediately notice the boy. Thane started removing the grate so he could leap out.

"Kolyat!" Thane heard Shepard yell. Kolyat turned to see who yelled at him, then turned back to shoot the bodyguard. "Thane."

"I saw." Thane hopped out the grate and started running towards Kolyat.

"He's heading to Talid's apartment." Shepard was right in front of him. Kolyat followed Talid into his apartment.

They entered the apartment. Talid was on his knees. Kolyat was behind him with his gun out, pointing at Talid.

"Kolyat." Thane said to his offspring.

"This is a joke. Now? Now you show up?" Kolyat was shocked, to say the least.

"Help me, drell. I'll do whatever you want." Talid begged for assistance.

"Shut up, Talid." Shepard said.

Bailey entered with some officers. "C-Sec. Put the gun down, son."

"Get out of my way. I'm walking out. He's coming with me." Kolyat said.

"They'll have snipers outside." Thane replied.

"I don't need your help." Kolyat said. Shepard shot the gun out of his hand. "What the hell?" Shepard ran up and punched him. Thane hoped that was enough.

"Talid, get the hell out of here." Shepard demanded.

"Yeah, yeah, I will." Talid left.

"Take the boy into custody." Bailey told his officers.

"You son of a bitch." Kolyat spat at Shepard.

"Your father doesn't have much time left. He's trying to make up for his mistakes." Shepard told him.

"What? So you came to get my forgiveness? So you can die in peace or something?" Kolyat asked with an edge to his voice.

"I came to grant you peace. You're angry because I wasn't there when your mother died." Thane said.

"You weren't there when she was alive. Why should you be there when she died?"

"Your mother...they killed her to get to me. It was my fault." Thane said.

"What?" Kolyat's eyes were wide. He was shaking. Thane could tell he was still angry, but it was shifting to confusion.

"After her body was given to the deep, I went to find them. The trigger men, the ringleaders, I hurt them, eventually killed them. When I went back to see you, you were...older. I should have stayed with you." Thane said.

"I guess it's too bad for me you waited so long, huh?"

"Kolyat. I've taken many bad things out of the world. You're the only good thing I ever added to it." Thane said.

Bailey cut in; "This isn't a conversation you should have in front of strangers. Boys, take Kolyat and his father back to the precinct. Give them a room and as much time as they need." Thane nodded to Bailey and guided Kolyat towards the officers.

"You're doing him a favor, Bailey. Thanks." Shepard said.

"Yeah, well, send me a Christmas card or something. I have to get back to the precinct. Come on, I'll give you a lift."

00000000

Shepard waited with Bailey while Thane talked to Kolyat. She definitely owed Bailey a favor or two. Thane walked out after some time. He headed over to them.

"How is it going?" Shepard asked.

"It is going to take some time. He is understandably full of anger. I never should have left him." Thane looked down.

"Keep in contact, and it will get better. We made a positive step here." Shepard said.

"Thank you, Shepard. Are you ready to return to the Normandy?"

"Yes, let's go. Thanks again, Bailey." They headed back to the ship.

00000000

Shepard went straight to the med bay when she returned to the ship after assisting Thane with his son. Tali was up and about, but still quite sore.

"I'm still not sure what to think about Garrus and Sidonis, Tali." Tali could tell it was bothering Shepard.

"It was his choice, Shepard. Try not to let it hang on your shoulders." Tali was laid face down on the bed again. She had finished her most recent bout of physical therapy, and was recovering.

"I know, Tali. I just wonder if I should have blocked him." Shepard was sitting next to Tali holding her hand.

"You did what he wanted. Better that than push a wedge between you. He stopped by earlier, but he didn't mention the mission." Tali paused. "How did it go with Thane's son?"

"Good. I didn't even have to shoot anyone, and Bailey didn't put him in the slammer." Shepard smiled. "Thane and his son are going to have some long talks to work through their issues. Apparently Thane was a bit of an absent father. I hope they can work things out."

"I'm sure they'll be alright." Tali flexed her back.

"Did Doc give you something for the itching?" Shepard asked, remembering Tali complaining about her back.

"She gave me something, but it doesn't relieve all the annoyance. I'm trying not to think about it. Let's discuss something else." Tali said. "How was your personal showing with Miranda?"

So much had happened since then, Shepard had almost forgotten. "It was awesome, Tali. I was worried she wouldn't be interested in me in those fancy dresses, but I shouldn't have. It was very nice. She came up and slept with me last night, too. I think we're going to be ok." She smiled.

Tali smiled back. "I'm happy for you." She squeezed Shepard's hand. "I guess you don't need to sleep with me anymore."

"I guess so." Shepard told her. "Does that bother you?"

"Somewhat. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would." Tali told her. "Maybe I'll sneak up to Kasumi's after she falls asleep."

"That's an idea. She probably won't mind as much as she says, though I wouldn't hold it against her if she is upset in the morning." Shepard said.

"I won't, Kasumi is a good friend. I'll mention the idea again, just to see what she says."

Shepard stayed with Tali for several more hours before deciding to see Mordin and Jacob.


	15. Chapter 15

Angel

Chapter 15

Bioware owns the rights to all characters.

Author's note: Detailed lesbian sex included in this chapter. Do not read if you don't like.

Shepard exited the airlock and headed up the elevator to the tech bay. She wanted to go straight to Miranda's office but thought she owed Mordin an apology for not rescuing his associate yet. Now that she thought about it, she should probably do the same for Jacob. Once the med bay was open she would schedule Tuchanka and the Hugo Gernsback next.

"Shepard, nice to see you. How is Tali doing?" Mordin said as she walked into the tech lab.

"Much better, Doc said she should be able to release her in a couple days.". Shepard answered.

"Good, good. I am still working on those shield improvements you mentioned. They should be complete within the next week, as long as I get more Platinum." Mordin was working on his terminal while talking.

"Thank you, Mordin. Um, I'd like to apologize for taking so long to rescue your associate. I do remember, and I wanted you to know it is next on the schedule."

Mordin looked up from his terminal. "Thank you, Shepard. I thought you had forgotten. It is good to know we will rescue him soon." He returned to his work.

Shepard left him and headed past the briefing room to the weapons area. Jacob was cleaning one of the sub machine guns. He put it down and faced her when she approached.

"Commander." He stood at attention and saluted her.

"Jacob, you know how I feel about that formal shit."

"Sorry Commander, I grew up in a military household. It's ingrained."

"I stopped by to apologize for taking so long to check out the beacon for the Hugo Gernsback." Shepard said.

"I understand, Commander. I truly don't expect to find anything but a crashed ship." Jacob said.

"We are visiting Tuchanka next to rescue an associate of Mordin, but we will head to the beacon after that. Does that sound acceptable?" Shepard asked.

"Yes, Commander. Living before the dead is a good rule to follow." Jacob came back to attention and gave her another salute. Shepard smiled and shook her head. She headed towards the elevator. On the way down EDI notified her that Samara was requesting her presence. Shepard headed to the starboard observation room.

Samara was worried the Ardat-Yakshi she tracked would get off Omega. She also gave Shepard a little more information about the creature. Not only was the Ardat-Yakshi a killer who could destroy you with its mind, but it was Samara's daughter. Shepard attempted to console Samara, only to be rebuffed. It seemed a thousand years can make you somewhat cold. Shepard promised Samara the Ardat-Yakshi would come to justice soon. She made a mental note to visit Omega after the Hugo Gernsback.

Shepard headed to the lounge to see Kasumi. She hadn't spoken much to her since Miranda had opened up. She definitely owed her. But what do you give a thief who can steal anything they want?

"Shepard!" Kasumi said as Shepard entered the lounge. She was sitting with Thane, of all people.

"Hi Kasumi. It's nice to see you."

"Thane and I were discussing career options for Kolyat. Apparently he's a pretty good programmer, and I was offering to quality control his work for security."

"That's a good idea, though you might want to take it easy on him. Having you crack every single thing he codes might lead to discouragement." Shepard turned to Thane. "How are you and Kolyat doing?"

"As I told you before. It will be a long process to re-build trust. Hopefully not so long that I die before seeing progress." He got up and turned to Kasumi. "Thank you, Kasumi. I will forward you his submissions. Shepard, nice to see you again." The drell walked out of the lounge.

Kasumi turned to Shepard with a smile. "Shepard, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

Shepard turned serious, "Kasumi, I just wanted to thank you for all you've done for me. Let me know if there's anything I can do to make it up to you. Anything at all."

"Shepard, you know you've already done it. You gave me the last bit of Keiji left. But besides that, you're my best friend. We look out for each other." She came to Shepard and gave her a hug. "Not to mention, Miranda is much nicer to be around since you broke her shell."

"Thanks for everything, Kasumi. I'm still leaving the request open, you need anything, you let me know."

Kasumi rolled her eyes. "Yes, Shepard, I'll let you know. Until then, head over to your raven haired goddess and distract her from that terminal. I'm going to suit up and visit Tali. It's about time for her physical therapy."

00000000

Miranda was continuing to deflect requests from the Illusive Man. He had become more insistent since he learned they were grounded. He had become more annoying since he'd seen the image of Miranda and Shepard in her bed together. _Why didn't I kill that feed before then? _But she knew the answer to that...she assumed the Illusive Man didn't have surveillance in her cabin. Her mistake. She briefly considered denying the incident was intimate, but it wouldn't take much sifting through Citadel footage to find plenty of evidence to the contrary.

_TIM: You know getting personal with anyone on the ship is a problem. Getting involved with Shepard is even worse!_

_Miranda: You didn't have any problem when I got involved with Jacob. Is it OK as long as it is a man? Is that company policy? _Miranda was happy that the fling with Jacob had been a brief encounter. Her relationship with Samantha was a thousand times more rewarding. She was not used to defending homosexual activity, but it was definitely her current status. Time to get used to it.

_TIM: You know this isn't about her sex! She's the captain. You need to be an unbiased advisor and observer. I need to know I can trust you to give me the unvarnished truth. No one else on that vessel has the interest of Cerberus at heart. You yourself mentioned possible bias within every Alliance report about her._

_Miranda: Any report filed by anyone on this vessel will appear biased even if they aren't. Shepard simply outperforms any statistical calculations. Somehow she inspires the crew to exceed expectations in all situations. She finds ways to solve impossible tasks. You don't know how she does it, and it drives you crazy._

Shepard walked in. Miranda was glad the connection wasn't video. She reached out her hand toward her. Shepard took it, kissed it, then moved behind her to rub her shoulders. It felt very nice.

_TIM: Now you really do sound biased._

_Miranda: And you sound like you haven't read any of the reports I sent you since Freedom's Progress. You might want to peruse them._

Miranda cut the connection and leaned back in her chair. Shepard leaned over her and they kissed.

"Still arguing with TIM?" Shepard asked.

"Yes. I didn't tell you, but before I cut all the surveillance feeds they caught some footage of us on the bed together." Shepard looked shocked. "So now he doesn't consider me an unbiased source of information."

"I see. Do you think he might send someone to replace you?" Shepard asked.

"I would hope at least some of the crew would keep that from happening..." Miranda leaned into Shepard's hand as she stroked her cheek. "But he might try to add a new crew member, or buy off someone already on the crew." Miranda quick assessment brought to mind the thief, the mercenary, and the assassin. However Kasumi and Thane were pretty securely in Shepard's court. "We should probably keep a close eye on Massani. Or take care of his problem, however distasteful it might be."

"Let's make sure they don't switch out any normal crew members as well. Also..." Shepard leaned over to kiss Miranda again, then, staring deep into her eyes, "...my love, we should make arrangements to move your sister again, without any Cerberus assistance or knowledge. I'll send a message to Liara about moving them with the secrecy necessary."

Miranda got up and slid her arms around her. "You think of everything. Thank you, Samantha." Miranda didn't know what else to say. No one had ever taken care of her in this manner, she had always been forced to take care of herself. Even while living with her father he coerced her to solve her own problems, telling her later that he did it as a learning experience.

"I'm willing to meet with them personally to apologize for the second move in such a short period of time." Samantha could see tears start to well up in Miranda's eyes. "Come here."

Miranda allowed herself to be dragged to the nearest couch. Samantha sat down, then pulled Miranda down to sit between her legs, facing away. "Let's work on those tense muscles." Sam started massaging her neck and shoulders. It hurt a little at first, but soon a soothing feeling travelled up her spine to the base of her skull. She went limp as Samantha's ministrations continued. After a time Sam moved her attention lower down her back, and Miranda felt a warm sensation build in her nether regions. She decided to stop things before they got too out of hand. _Let's save that for later. Right now I have something to get off my chest. _She took Sam's hands and wrapped them around her as she leaned back into the redhead's warm embrace. She leaned her head back and turned so they could kiss once again. They sat like that for a time before Miranda spoke.

"When I was a child I had no friends, it wasn't allowed. Even my father acted more like a distracted mentor than a father. He gave no words of encouragement; only what he would probably consider inspiration. He discouraged friendship from a very young age, and even paid off other families to remove children I had befriended. Even tutors with whom I had built a sense of camaraderie were removed once noticed." Miranda said with no prompting.

"Your father must live in a very cold world."

"Very similar to the cold world I lived in, until very recently." She squeezed Sam's hands. "I ran away from him when I was seventeen. And though I had several degrees by that time, it was the scariest time of my life. I had little money, nowhere to go, and a brilliant xenophobe chasing me. Cerberus was the only group willing to accept the risk I presented along with my skills. And before you ask, I did petition the Alliance to no avail. In some respects the risk was greater for Cerberus because my father was one of their anonymous donors. He cut off his contributions when he found out. I'm still not quite sure why they took me in."

"I do." Samantha said close to her ear.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but you aren't what I would consider an unbiased source." Miranda leaned back to kiss Sam's cheek. "They lost a great deal when they took me in. Up until very recently I thought they would always have my back, considering what they had given up for me. Now I realize they only have their own interest at heart. Now that I am no longer a loyal Cerberus asset I am ripe for replacement by the next xenophobe in line."

"Miranda, you have friends now. You don't need Cerberus. More importantly, you don't want them in your life. They are an evil group, and I could tell you stories that would disgust you."

"I suspect the only reason I have friends is you. I have it on good authority that I'm hard to get to know." Samantha hugged her tighter. Miranda paused for a while. "I have also started to notice disturbing trends in Cerberus activities. I have to wonder if the trends existed before and I was tricking myself not to notice, or Cerberus has simply switched to more questionable actions recently."

Sam didn't say anything. Miranda assumed because she didn't want to say anything to upset her.

Her father had made her beautiful, powerful, and intelligent. It took this wonderful woman to show her how she had become her own person with the choices she made.

This woman who was her project for two years had become much more over the last couple months. All she had to do was let Samantha remove her insecurities and replace them with care and warmth. The genuine concern was something she didn't expect from the renowned soldier who lost her parents at a very young age. She gripped Sam's arms tightly.

It was a physical release when she let go of her past and embraced her future. Her eyes brimmed with tears of joy. Miranda allowed her inner cold to flow out with her tears. They slowly fell until one dripped to Samantha's arm. Sam turned her head until she saw Miranda smiling through the tears. Miranda lifted her legs and put them on the chaise to one side, turning so she could hug Sam tightly, her tears still running. "Some strong woman I turned out to be." Miranda said through the emotion. Looking into Sam's eyes full of compassion and longing.

"All strong people have their demons. You know about mine. You help me with mine. I'm here to help you with yours." Shepard said.

"Thank you Sam." Miranda said, leaning her head over onto Samantha's shoulder, breathing her scent deeply.

After a time Miranda got up and pulled Sam up with her.

"You're staying here tonight." She then pulled Samantha into a deep kiss, eventually sliding her hands down to pull their hips together.

"Ummm, Miranda. I'm not going to be able to resist your charms if you keep..." A small moan escaped Sam's mouth, "...touching me like this."

"Then don't resist." Miranda said, then kissed the side of Sam's neck.

Sam grabbed her in a fierce embrace, lifting her up slightly and sliding her leg between Miranda's. As her composure abandons her, Miranda makes a small gasp into Sam's ear, then rubbed herself against Sam. The sensations were fantastic.

Miranda forced herself to pull away and unzipped her one piece to her waist, revealing herself to Sam. Sam leaned down to kiss above her collarbone, then she moved to Miranda's neck as she slowly slid her outfit off her shoulders, kissing the revealed skin. Once the garment was removed completely from her arms, Miranda brought Sam's face back to hers for a kiss, looking deep into her emerald eyes. Sam deftly un-clasped her bra.

Miranda was surprised Sam knew how to operate a bra, but was too distracted to say anything. Sam was softly caressing her breasts while she nibbled on Miranda's ear. Her tender touch was igniting a fire in Miranda's core.

When she could stand it no longer, Miranda pulled away and shrugged off her bra, then started working on the buttons on Sam's shirt. Her hands were shaking slightly. Sam let her work while her eyes wandered over her body.

"Angel, you really are beautiful." Miranda looked up from her work with a smile.

"We've really got to get you some clothes with fewer buttons." She finally pulled the shirt open.

"Had I but known, I would have worn something less sensible." Sam said with a smirk.

Miranda pulled the shirt off her shoulders, then leaned forward to kiss the slight scarring left by the Praetorian just a week before. Sam shuddered slightly. Miranda switched sides to kiss the scar on her upper arm, left by a krogan the week before that.

"At this rate, you're going to replace all the residual scarring from Lazarus with actual scars."

Then she started pulling Sam's bra up. Sam raised her arms. As Miranda drew the bra over Sam's hands she gave her a quick kiss. Tossing the item aside she bent down and gave each nipple a quick lick. Goose bumps appeared on Sam's arms. Miranda grabbed her around the waist and pulled Sam's body to her. The skin to skin contact was exquisite, causing her to lower her arms and force their hips even closer together. Sam wriggled enticingly against her, sending even more pleasurable waves through her. _I never knew it could feel this good._ Miranda buried her face in Sam's neck, kissing it repeatedly.

Pulling back from Sam's neck, Miranda hooked her thumbs in Samantha's pants and lowered them. Sam's movement assisted the progress. Once Sam was relieved of them Miranda took a step back and looked her over. "Hard to believe I had you naked on a slab for more than a year and never noticed how beautiful you are." She reached out and caressed a breast, then a hip. Sam gave a slight shiver at the contact. "Kasumi is correct, though. Boy shorts do not do your figure justice." She pulled them off. Sam was trying to keep from jumping on her. Miranda noticed the hungry look in her eyes and lowered her own suit and panties to the ground. Samantha was transfixed by the sight before her.

Miranda sauntered to the bed and leaned on it, then gave Samantha a come hither motion. She could tell Samantha was trying hard to walk slowly. Miranda slid back and laid herself down. Once at the bed Sam crawled over her and tenderly spread Miranda's legs, placing her legs between them. She rubbed herself against Miranda's center. Miranda arched against her in response. Sam reached a hand between them to reach her most sensitive spot, which sent a jolt through Miranda with contact. Sam shifted to her side and slid an arm underneath her for leverage. She slowly rubbed Miranda, dipping into her occasionally until she was writhing in ecstasy. Miranda didn't last long, she had to stop her or pass out from the pleasure.

"Samantha!" She kissed her fiercely and pulled their bodies together. Looking deep into Samantha's emerald pools she recognized the desire. _What did I do to deserve you? _"Your turn." Miranda forced Sam to lay back and slid her hand between her legs. She knew the mechanics of it, but had no personal experience other than self-stimulation, so she was worried she wouldn't be very good. She shouldn't have worried. She soon had Samantha twitching with each wave of pleasure. Sam was breathing hard in her ear and kissing her, repeating "Angel" often. Samantha eventually stopped her as well. They lay down facing each other with smiles on their faces.

"And to think I was actually nervous about being with a woman." Miranda said with her smile even wider than before. "I should have jumped your bones a month ago."

"I'm glad you approve." Samantha said with an equally large smile. "Get ready for round two." Samantha got up and shifted Miranda towards the headboard, then crawled down to her legs and spread them wide. Miranda let her, not knowing what was coming, but pretty sure she would enjoy it. Sam crawled up to her liquid center and licked tentatively, then with more urgency. Miranda felt the pleasure build within her again. Then she felt Sam stick a finger in and curve it up, and a whole new build up began. She clenched the bed with her hands. _I love you, Samantha. _Then as an afterthought: _I'm going to be sore tomorrow._


	16. Chapter 16

Angel

Chapter 16

Bioware owns the rights to all characters.

Shepard and Miranda were late to breakfast the next day, and they both had enthusiastic cases of bed head. Kasumi watched as they picked up trays of food and sat down together. They weren't saying much, but the glances between them were filled with meaning. Not to mention the smiles they were wearing seemed permanently attached. Kasumi smile grew while she watched them. _You two look like you had a very good night, though likely not restful._

She elbowed Garrus and nodded in their direction. Garrus figured it out after a few moments, and his smile grew. He turned to Thane as Kasumi got up. The rumor mill was started. Everyone on the ship would know within a few minutes. Kasumi walked over to where they were and sat across from them. They both looked at her with grins plastered on their faces.

"Have a good night, Shepard?" Kasumi asked with a crooked smile.

Shepard glanced at Miranda before answering. "Yes, actually. I slept very well."

"And you, Miss Lawson? Have a good night?" Her face the picture of innocence.

"Yes Kasumi. Thank you for asking." She was looking at Kasumi strangely.

"Because you both look a little tired. And your hair is a little more messy than normal." Kasumi's smile grew larger as the blush crept up their faces. "And those smiles of pure joy etched on your faces makes me think you might not have gotten much rest."

"Umm." Was all Shepard could manage.

"All I have to say is; It's about damn time." Kasumi said with a big smile. "Have a good day, you two." Then she got up and walked back to Garrus. She was happy to see they quickly lost their red faces and got back to the loaded glances and innocuous touching. She finished her breakfast and wandered over to the med bay.

"Tali, you're going to want to see this. If you're able to get up." Kasumi said through a comm link to Tali.

"What is it, Kasumi?" Tali asked as she pulled herself off the bed.

"Just one of the most sickeningly sweet sights you're likely to see."

Tali searched the seating area for whatever Kasumi was alluding to. "Oh!" She said once her eyes alighted on the red head and brunette. "My, they do look happy, don't they?"

"Yes, they do. Hopefully they tone it down in time for your double date, or you might be overwhelmed."

"I'm sure it will be fine." Tali said, still watching the two.

"Do you want me to come in? It's still a little while till your first physical therapy session." Kasumi asked.

"You don't have to, Kasumi. I can probably manage this one without you."

"Are you still on track to have your date tomorrow night?". Kasumi asked.

"The skin on my back is almost completely healed, though it still itches a lot. Doc says I'm on schedule for getting back into my suit tomorrow."

"You might as well make it your fancy one, then." Kasumi looked back at the two women. "And here I was thinking they would wait until after their date."

"Wait for what?" Tali asked.

"Oh, Tali." Kasumi shook her head.

Tali thought about it for a few seconds. "Oh...Oh! That's why they're so happy!"

"Thank you, Tali."

"For what?"

"For not forcing me to explain it to you." Kasumi said. "I'll be back later to sit with you." She walked back towards the lounge.

0000000

The next day Kasumi and Shepard helped Tali into her suit. Unfortunately they had to wear full hazmat suits to enter the med bay, so they had trouble using their hands. Not to mention, they were both trying to avoid looking at Tali to protect her modesty. On the other hand, Tali was having trouble with her suit.

After several minutes and an exasperated sigh, she was forced to ask for assistance. "Please help. I don't care if you look at me, really. This thing has more straps and seals than I am used to." Tali pleaded.

Kasumi and Shepard turned around, steeling their jaws to prevent any attraction. Too bad Tali was beautiful under her suit.

"Damn it, Tali." Shepard said.

"What?" Tali said, still trying to pull her suit up.

"You're not supposed to be gorgeous under that suit." Shepard said, then added. "But at least we got to see how adorable you are when you blush. Garrus is a lucky guy."

"Thank you, Shepard, though we shouldn't get ahead of ourselves. Now help me with this darn thing." Tali said reproachfully.

"I'm sorry, Tali. Umm, Kasumi, you take this and wrap it around. These things need instructions. Now hand that part to me..." It took them several hours before they finished.

"You do look fantastic in this suit, Tali." Kasumi said. Tali's suit had passed its seal test, and they were converting the medical center back to normal operation. To say Doc was pleased was an understatement.

"Tali, you are hereby banned from getting hurt." Dr. Chakwas said.

"I'll second that." Shepard added, pulling herself out of her suit.

"I'll do my best, just promise me you'll still take me on missions. I'd hate to be a useless member of the crew." Tali said.

"Tali, I could lock you in engineering and you would still be a valuable member of the team." Shepard told her while giving her a hug. "Just don't take any more shots for me." She looked down at Tali's new suit. "By the way, that suit is even softer than your last one. I might have to skip out on Miranda some night just so I can sleep next to that... Though I probably won't."

"Anytime Shepard. Do you need help getting ready for our date this evening?" Tali asked.

Shepard looked down at herself. She was down to her underclothes again. "I guess I should put something on. Kasumi? You going to help?"

"Of course, otherwise your hair will look dreadful. Tali, you can come and help pick an outfit. Nothing too revealing this time."

00000000

Miranda was sitting at her terminal in her underwear.

_From: Oriana_

_Hey sis, just got the holos of your dresses. Very nice selection. I might need to borrow your fashion consultant for my next event. You should wear the black asari style dress with white contour stripes. It will look great with your hair down. Wear the black boots._

_My parents are ready whenever we need to move. The information broker you contacted has been very thorough. I'm sorry to hear you're having trouble with your employer, though as you already know, they have quite a nasty reputation. You shouldn't have trouble finding work with...well anybody._

_I still can't believe you and the Commander are an item. You look so happy on the Citadel video feed. She is so good looking!_

_-Oriana_

_PS: Please send me pics of the two of you together(as long as that doesn't break any rules)._

_PPS: Switch to encryption 4.2 for the next message._

Miranda smiled as she thought back to her big reveal to Oriana.

_From: Oriana_

_Sis, you can't avoid the question forever. Who is this 'maybe' man in your life? Is it someone on your ship? That Jacob is pretty handsome. Maybe the mercenary, Massini? He seems kinda rough. One of the aliens perhaps? The drell...Thane Krios. He's pretty sexy. Come on, Sis. Give me a hint._

_-Oriana_

_PS: Switch to encryption 8.6 for the next message._

_From: Miranda Lawson_

_You're on the wrong track. I might as well tell you. There's video circulating of me and Commander Shepard together on the Citadel. Feel free to look it up._

_No one was more surprised than me when I fell for the Commander. Before I met her I had no interest in women. Also, it goes completely against my grain to have a relationship with a supervising officer. When we first met she constantly argued with me about missions and goals, she bad-mouthed Cerberus(the very corporation that brought her back to life), and she directly undermined my authority several times. We did not get along at all._

_It was a revelation when I analyzed her views and positions over her career. She has a straightforward moral code that is easy to follow; corporations and money don't matter, only people matter. The poorest beggar on Omega means more to her than any huge international corporation. She's also the least bigoted person I've met, with the exclusion of the batarians. Though having your parents killed by a certain group does set you off on the wrong foot._

_Over the last couple months I've found her to be one of the kindest and most intuitive people I've ever come into contact with. Any of her crew has a problem, she will solve it. If there is a way to solve a problem without bloodshed, she will find it. She really will sacrifice herself for her crew. That's something I still don't agree with. She is more important than anyone on this ship, not to mention she's got enough scars already. Just a few weeks ago she hopped a barricade into enemy fire to smash the butt of her rifle through a krogan's head. She lost most of the skin on her arm, and just about severed a tendon in the process. I knew I was lost to her the moment they carried her to the med bay._

_We're going on a double date in several days. I'm going shopping with one of the crew tomorrow to buy some outfits. I'll send you some holos of the dresses. You can help me decide which to wear._

_-Miranda_

_PS: Switch to encryption 13.1 for the next message._

_From: Oriana_

_You and the Commander!? Wow! You landed a hottie! I just checked out the Citadel feed. You look great together...and so happy! Congratulations!_

_By the way, that slacks outfit you wore was to die for. I hope you don't mind if I steal that look for my next date._

_Please send me your dress options. I'll help you pick something to make her weak in the knees._

_-Oriana_

_PS: Switch to encryption 9.9 for the next message._

"So, the black asari dress with white stripes." Miranda got up and headed to her closet.

00000000

"Shepard! Quit moving!"

"It feels like you're going to poke me in the eye!" Kasumi was attempting to put make-up on Shepard, with limited success.

"I am not going to poke you in the eye." She said.

"You might slip!" Shepard declared.

Kasumi rolled her eyes. "Shepard, who are you talking to?"

"Oh... Right."

"Now, look up at the ceiling, and trust me." Kasumi got back to work.

"I can't decide, Kasumi." Tali was flipping through Shepard's closet. "What color will Miranda be wearing?"

"Miranda's easy: black, white, or black and white. I tried to get her in something to bring out her beautiful blue eyes and she just about flipped out. Luckily she has no problem with tight or revealing clothes, so there's no doubt Shepard will be pleased despite the lack of color. Sort of the opposite problem we have with Miss Commander here."

"Hey!" Shepard exclaimed as Tali giggled.

"Don't move, Shepard. I'm almost done with your eyes. Tali, pick out something long that isn't black."

Tali pulled out a deep turquoise dress. "I've always liked this color." She added as Kasumi started on Shepard's lips.

"Good choice, Tali. The skirt on that one has slits up both sides, like yours, so it will work well for dancing. And the plunging neckline will entice Miranda all night. At least, until the dress comes off. The sleeves are a nice bonus for Shepard, to cover her barely noticeable scars." Kasumi gave Shepard a smirk as she finished up the gloss on her lips. "Now Shepard, I'm sending you with more lip gloss in your purse. You'll need to apply frequently if the last couple days are any evidence to your propensity to lip lock the raven haired beauty."

Shepard rolled her eyes. "Yes, Kasumi."

"EDI, until Shepard is back on the ship I want all non emergency notices sent to me." Kasumi said.

"Is this acceptable, Commander?" EDI asked Shepard.

"Yes, EDI. I trust Kasumi's judgement." Shepard said.

"Very well, once you leave the ship all non emergency broadcasts will be forwarded to Kasumi." EDI announced.

"All right, Shepard. Out of the chair." Kasumi said, finally pleased with Shepard's make up.

Shepard got up and started walking to Tali and the dress. Kasumi yanked off her robe, leaving her standing in her thong, once again.

"Damnit Kasumi!" Shepard turned around and glared at her.

"What? It's only fair. You got to see Tali nude already." Tali was trying not to laugh, and failing. Shepard took a deep breath and looked at the ceiling. "Now Tali, hold that side of the dress like this...and I'll hold the other side. Shepard, get in and try not to step on the dress."

Shepard bought her eyes back down from the ceiling and shook her head. "Oh, the tortures we endure for our friends."

A few minutes later Shepard was standing on front of her full length mirror. "You look great, Shepard!" Tali said.

"Thank you, Tali. This plunging neckline goes to my waist, but at least no scars are showing. The slits aren't too extreme, so I won't have to keep checking if my underwear is showing." Shepard said.

"All right, Shepard." Kasumi knelt down and grabbed one of her feet. "These are not nearly as high as the shoes I normally wear, so you should be able to walk without too much trouble. The heels are pretty large, too." She slipped a toeless shoe with a large clunky heel on her foot, then did the other side. The heels weren't even two inches high, but Shepard still had trouble when she stepped into them. She walked around her cabin for a few minutes to get used to them.

"Just remember to fall towards Miranda if you fall." Kasumi said with a smile. "Now, lets go down and see what your dates are wearing." She held out her arms towards both of them. They each took hold of an arm and headed towards the elevator.

00000000

Garrus was standing with Miranda near the galaxy map. She looked very nice in her black and white clingy dress. He was glad she had gotten together with Shepard. Once again Shepard had managed to convert her biggest critic into her greatest ally. He was also happy Shepard had found someone to return her attraction. He had been around when Shepard had pined after Ashley, and it had only gotten worse after she died. It was about time she got some kindness out of this world, since she had given it so much of herself.

"Miss Lawson, I've been authorized to inform you that all non emergency broadcasts to you or Shepard have been routed to Kasumi and Thane for the duration of your visit to the Citadel." EDI announced. Garrus watched Miranda smile.

"Thank you, EDI." Miranda said.

"Also, Mr. Vakarian, reservations at the restaurant and the private table at Purgatory have been confirmed, under the separate false identities you requested."

"Thank you, EDI." Garrus told her.

"Separate false identities? Very nice Garrus." Miranda told him.

"Thank you, Miranda. It seemed appropriate, considering how many mercenary groups have prices on our heads. I also warned Captain Bailey about our plans, but told him to keep it to himself. I might trust him, but not the entirety of C-Sec."

"Very good." Miranda said.

"You look very nice, Miranda." Garrus told her.

"Thank you, Garrus. You are looking quite dashing as well. Dark navy suits you." Garrus had chosen to wear a turian suit in dark navy, and he felt odd without his armor. Most likely as odd as Shepard without her suit. He had to smile at the thought of her in a dress. He had never seen her more nervous than during the fashion how the put on for Tali.

"Thank you, Miranda."

Just then Tali, Kasumi, and Shepard came around the corner. Tali looked even better than Lia in the elegant quarian suit. Garrus was very pleased. Miranda and Shepard both got big eyes and slack jaws. They practically jumped the last couple feet to kiss each other. Tali walked up and took Garrus' arm, leaning against his shoulder as they watched the other couple.

"Looking good, Tali." He told her.

"Thanks, Garrus. You look very nice as well. I haven't seen that suit before."

"Yea, I don't get out of my armor very often."

"Neither do I." Tali told him.

"Shepard! You're going to wear off all your lipstick in the first five minutes if you don't cut it out." Kasumi said, shaking her head. "Now, tell Miranda and Garrus that they both look nice, and get off the ship before you miss your reservation."

The official date had begun. Joker's jaw once again hit the floor. This time both Shepard and Miranda laughed at him.


	17. Chapter 17

Angel

Chapter 17

Bioware owns rights to all characters.

Kasumi was relaxing in the lounge once Shepard, Miranda, Tali, and Garrus were off the ship. She was about to break out the turian whiskey when EDI broke the silence.

"Kasumi, we have a hail from Captain Bailey."

"Patch him through, EDI."

"Kasumi. The Eclipse communication channels lit up when Shepard arrived without her armor. I'm afraid they might do something regrettable." Bailey told her.

"Damn, and here I was ready for a nice relaxing evening. Thanks Bailey, I'll let you know if we need any help." Kasumi hopped up and ran to her locker. She opened a comm link to Thane. "Thane, it sounds like Eclipse is going to crash Shepard's date. Grab your sniper rifle." She paused. "Do you think Grunt could help out without tearing the place down? Because I wouldn't put 5 credits on Jack keeping all the walls vertical."

"I'll talk to him, Kasumi. We might need the muscle if things get unpleasant."

Kasumi grabbed her weapons and strapped her suit on. She met Thane and Grunt on the gangway to the Citadel. "Keep your comm links open, we need constant communication. Also, let's try to keep the lovebirds from hearing about this. Grunt, you're on floor duty. Try to keep it quiet. Thane, you're in the sky. Walkways or vents, your choice. Use the silencer as much as possible. I'll let you know if you should drop down to assist, though you'll probably already know. I'll be on recon. I'll hack the Eclipse communications and give you targets. The assumption is the mercs do not know our friends' destinations, so they're going to have their own recon team following our guys. They'll likely have a team in Purgatory already, it's a safe assumption that most outings end up there." They nodded to Bailey as they walked past C-Sec.

"The restaurant is up two floors. Shepard always walks. Grunt, follow me at about fifty feet. Thane, do what you do." Kasumi started up the stairs with Grunt following. Thane disappeared.

00000000

"Delta team, are you in place? Recon three says they are heading your way." Captain Rayne of Eclipse had constant surveillance at the Citadel since Shepard and Lawson showed up without armor three days ago. She wanted to pay those bitches back since they killed her sister Enyala on Illium. She wanted them alive. She wanted to watch them suffer. She still remembered the mutilated corpse of her beloved sister. It didn't even look asari anymore.

She had teams in place on each of the first five floors. She had considered putting someone in each stairway, but the snipers said the shot angles were terrible. She didn't think it was necessary, but she also had several snipers in Purgatory. They were all equipped with knock-out rounds. If things got messy, they could switch to lethal rounds.

"Delta team here, we are in place,"

"Thirty seconds till targets hit your range." Rayne said.

"Sniper is set up. The rest of the team is ready for pick up. Targets are in sight. Waiting for range. The floor is busy, we might need to wait for a clear shot."

"Copy that, Delta. Keep me informed."

"They have a turian and quarian with them, Captain."

"They are not important. Knock them out and leave them." Rayne said.

"Roger that, Captain. Sniper has clear shot."

A minute passed. "Update?" Rayne asked.

"Sniper is not responding, Captain. Sergeant Nyxis is checking on him. Targets rounded the corner. Notify Epsilon squad to take over."

"Epsilon squad here. Targets entered restaurant. We will wait till they come out."

"Why are you waiting? Go in after them!" Rayne demanded.

"Umm...the restaurant is Solarus, Captain. Owned by one of Eclipse' top sponsors. We've been forbidden from any actions within the restaurants anywhere in the universe, Sir."

Captain Rayne sighed audibly. "All right, we'll wait until they come out of the damn restaurant. Delta squad? Any update on the sniper?"

A few minutes passed.

"Delta squad?" Rayne asked.

00000000

Thane looked down on Grunt. The krogan had taken the bodies of the Eclipse squad and dragged them to an abandoned warehouse. Thane had taken care of the sniper, and the sergeant sent to look for him. It wouldn't be too much longer before the captain figured out they were under attack. Thane was crouched on a ventilation duct above the maintenance walkways. Kasumi had already hacked the communications for the mercenaries, and notified them about a second squad.

"The second squad is hanging out right outside the restaurant, Thane. They don't want to go in, for an entertaining political reason." Kasumi said over the radio.

"I'll be there in three minutes." Thane said before moving down the duct.

"They're pretty well fortified, and I think they're about to figure out someone's taking out their guys. It's likely they'll switch comm encryption as well. It will take me a little while to patch back in."

"Got it. Have they mentioned how many teams they have?" Thane asked.

"Not yet." Kasumi answered. "It's likely they already have someone in Purgatory."

"We'll deal with them once they leave the restaurant. Any luck locating this Captain?" Thane asked.

"No. She's probably holed up in one of the sound-proof suites. They want Shep and the Ice Queen alive. I'm guessing torture is involved. This is not standard Eclipse protocol. This Captain has something personal against our girls." Kasumi said.

"I agree. The sniper for the second squad will be silenced shortly. Grunt, you're on for the squad across from the restaurant. There's a deserted crosswalk a few meters further along the passage, you can drag them in there. Kasumi will need to jam their communications briefly. There are more with this squad." Thane said.

"Got it." Grunt answered.

00000000

"Captain, we just lost contact with our sniper." Epsilon squad reported.

"What?!" Rayne said. "All right. Someone knows we're here, and probably what we're doing. All teams switch to encryption code 2." A brief pause. "Teams Alpha, Beta, and Gamma, stay where you are. Your targets and goals do not change. All recon teams on the lower floors come up to the restaurant level. All other recon teams stay where you are. Teams Chi and Omega go to team Epsilon's location to assist. Any activity in the restaurant, Epsilon?"

"Nothing, Captain. Why wouldn't they warn them?"

"It's possible they don't want to interrupt their night out...fools. We can use this to our advantage. Chi and Omega, set yourselves up in the area before they reach the stairway to Purgatory. Make sure your snipers are set up the same distance from the targets. Recon teams, feed me all your video."

00000000

"We lost audio, they figured out someone was after them...finally." Kasumi told Thane and Grunt. "It will take me a few minutes to patch back in. Luckily Shep and Miranda are still in the restaurant. I'd bet on at least one more team coming."

Thane dropped into the middle of the squad outside the restaurant. There were six of them, and they were complacent. He took out several of them before they knew what was going on. The last few put up a fight, but nothing he couldn't handle. As he secured one of their radios his shield took a hit. He instantly vaulted himself into the ductwork.

"Kasumi, I'm transferring you the encryption. The second squad is down." Thane said. "There's another group close. One of them got a shot off, my shield took the hit. Sniper round, they weren't close. Came from towards the stairs. I'm going to loop around to lose the tail."

"Good job, Thane. I'll see what I can do with the sniper." Kasumi went up to the maintenance walkways at the far end of the passageway. The entire squad was up on the maintenance walkway. That would make it difficult to take out just the sniper, she would have to take out the entire squad. She crept close to the rear guard. She was cloaked, so she didn't have to worry about being seen, but they might hear her steps on the metal grates. Luckily she had lots of practice being quiet. The sniper was on the far end of the squad. She would have to take out the entire squad quietly enough that the sniper did not hear.

Just then a sound drew her attention across the passage to the maintenance walkway on the opposite side. There was another squad. They were watching each other. She immediately backed away from the group on her side. She sent a text message to the boys: "_Two squads! One on each walkway. Five in each group. The snipers are ahead of their groups by several meters. Thane, think you can take out one side while me and Grunt handle the other?" _She put a silencer on her hand cannon.

"Shouldn't be a problem. Though I could use some assistance with the sniper. It could be loud if he sets his weapon to automatic."

_"Ok, Grunt, several of these guys are going to be heading down to the floor below. Take care of them for me. I'll take out both snipers."_

00000000

Master Sergeant Seyrnia of Omega squad was not happy. They had already lost two squads on this stupid mission. And so far, one sniper had seen one member of Shepard's guardian angels and barely nicked the drell's shield. It was pathetic. She glanced back at Corporal Remus and rolled her eyes. The human was shaking so badly that he wouldn't hit anyone even if they were right in front of him. She was going to demote him if they made it out of here alive.

Captain Rayne was stressing the importance of the mission over their headset. _I realize you lost your sister and you want them to pay, but we should switch to live ammo about now._ _It would be easier to throw a bomb in the restaurant and deal with the upset sponsor later._

"Anything Sergeant?" She asked the sniper a few yards ahead of her.

"Nothing, Master Sergeant. The drell leaped straight up into the ductwork right after I hit him."

"Keep looking, Sergeant."

"Sir."

Just then Seyrnia heard a startled cry behind her and looked to see Corporal Remus off the walkway and dropping the fifteen feet to the ground below them. Glancing off to her right to signal the other squad she saw the drell snap the neck of that squad's Master Sergeant.

"The drell! Get..." Seyrnia started before she felt someone grab her legs at the ankle. "What?!" She found herself flying through the air over the railway. Knowing it would hurt when she hit the ground she rotated in air to train her rifle of the hooded figure that threw her over. She got off a single round before slamming into the ground back first.

She pulled herself up still seeing stars. She saw the Corporal behind her, he had hit the ground hard at a bad angle, and his neck was obviously broken. She turned back around and aimed at the hooded figure. A huge arm grabbed her and threw her up against a wall. Stunned she turned to see a krogan bearing down on her. She yelled out a desperate message before it hit her.

"There are three of them, Capt..." She felt her back snap as the krogan crushed her.

00000000

Captain Rayne watched the three creatures tear her squads apart. Her mobile recon units were feeding her the images from a safe distance. The drell had methodically snapped the neck or knifed most of Squad Chi. The hooded figure had flipped most of Squad Omega off the maintenance walkway before precisely shooting both of the snipers. The krogan had smashed the members of Omega squad that survived the fall. They destroyed her squads as if they were new recruits.

"Shit." She said. These guardian angels were much better trained than she imagined. "Teams Alpha, Beta, and Gamma switch to lethal rounds. Snipers maintain your current targets. All other squad members protect the snipers. Protect from all directions. There are three guardian angels, all pros. One has cloaking ability. One is a skilled assassin drell. The final is a krogan. Do not mention your location over the comm link. They have probably hacked us. Stay silent. Recon units set up digital feeds and take off. I'll patch into the Citadel surveillance for additional footage. Stay sharp."

00000000

Kasumi got a big smile as she watched Shepard, Miranda, Tali, and Garrus come out of the restaurant. She and Thane had scoured the level looking for more Eclipse and come up empty. Luckily the level had been almost deserted when they took out the two squads. Grunt had shocked the hell out of a couple when he smashed the last of the Eclipse against the wall just as they exited a boutique. Kasumi had been amazed that his claim "C-Sec business, folks. Please move along." had actually worked. Grunt had dragged the last Eclipse around a corner as their friends walked out of the restaurant.

"Thane, they are on their way, how do the stairs look?"

"Good Kasumi. Purgatory next?" He asked.

"Yep, let's check the route. I'll walk closely in front of them, you start checking Purgatory. My guess is the rest of the squads are holed up there. At least that would be my choice."

"I agree. Let's go."

00000000

"I figured out where two snipers are located, but I'll bet they have more." Thane announced. "I'm sending a squad location to Grunt."

"Got it, Thane." Kasumi was crawling through a duct. She hated crawling through ducts. _Damn you Shepard. Now I'm getting all dirty. _"I'll bet at least one is holed up next to the video screen in the ceiling. I'm headed there now."

00000000

Thane was watching the sniper on the third level. She was training her rifle on the door to Purgatory. She had night vision glasses to accommodate the dark environment. Which might help see on the floor below, but effectively made her blind to nearby threats. The problem for Thane was reaching the target. She was propped up against a light stand, and if he approached her the light stand would vibrate, alerting her to his presence. He would have to do this fast enough to catch her before she could pull off her glasses.

00000000

Kasumi was laughing her head off. She couldn't help herself. She had glanced down to check on their friends and saw Shepard attempting to dance. She hadn't been able to speak for a minute at least. Miranda was trying her best, but Shepard just didn't know how to move. After another minute she heard the call from Thane.

"Kasumi!" Thane yelled into the headset.

"What?!" She answered.

"I need...assistance." Thane told her before she looked up to his location.

"On my way!" Thane was dangling from the rafters from one arm. His other arm was holding an Eclipse mercenary, who was dangling limply. The mercenary was several floors over a dance floor full of people, including Shep and Tali. "Grunt, you're on the other Eclipse squads, good luck."

"Got it, though the third squad is on the opposite side of the room; it will take me a while to get there." Grunt answered.

Kasumi was on a maintenance ladder heading to the ceiling. When she reached the top of the ladder she saw the third sniper. "Thane, I've found the third sniper. How much time do I have?" She pulled herself into the rafters.

"Not long." He told her.

"Grrrr." Kasumi rushed across the rafters, heading towards the third sniper.

00000000

"Team Gamma, Captain. We've lost contact with Alpha and Beta squads, and two of the three snipers." Captain Rayne shook her head, then started putting her armor on.

"If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself." Rayne checked her weapon, making sure it had live rounds.

"What was that, Captain?" The Gamma Master sergeant asked.

"Nothing Sergeant. Find them and kill them." _If you can. _"I will be on the dance floor."

"But that's in the open!" He told her.

"I will risk it. You do what I tell you. Don't worry about what I do."

00000000

"Thane, I'm heading your way. The third sniper is down and Grunt is headed towards the last squad. If we assume one squad per sniper we've got them all." Kasumi said.

"Good, the sniper is slipping." Thane told her, a note of exhaustion in his voice.

"We have another problem. The Captain for all these squads is coming directly to the dance floor, with, I assume, malicious intent."

"Not good." Thane said. "Hurry."

Kasumi attached a cable to a rafter and started lowering herself towards Thane and the merc.

00000000

"I am Krogan!" Grunt yelled as he slammed the last two squad members up against a wall. He wasn't used to all this sneaking around, and it took effort to rein in his aggression. With the collapse of the last few squad members he paused to listen. He was on the maintenance walkway just outside of Purgatory.

"Kasumi, the last squad is dealt with. They were scared to death. Barely fought at all."

"Thank you, Grunt. See anyone suspicious heading into Purgatory?"

"Several Asari, but there's no telling if she will wear armor or not. For all we know, she might have something thin like the XO."

"Keep looking Grunt. I would prefer to keep her out of Purgatory."

"Too late." Thane added. "We need to go...now."

Kasumi looked towards the entrance and saw her. The Captain was quickly striding through the club with her biotics flaring. Her skin tight yellow Eclipse armor stood out like a sore thumb in the crowd. The snipers had already given her a location on Shep and the others. She was walking straight at them.

"Thane, grab hold!" Kasumi attached her cable to another rafter and released the catch, hoping the brake would stop them before they smashed into the dance floor. Thane leaped and grabbed her around the middle. They dropped straight to the middle of the dance floor, the catch on her cable barely stopping them in time. Luckily no one was sober enough to notice their unconventional entrance. Kasumi released her cable and they both quickly moved to intercept the pissed off asari.

00000000

Captain Rayne walked quickly towards the private booth where the snipers identified the bitches. She couldn't see them yet, but she was ready for them. Her biotics were amped, and she had her shotgun concealed at her back. She tried to control her anger because her biotic flares were shocking people within the club, but it was difficult. Whoever the guardian angels were, they had completely ruined her. She had requisitioned several squads, snipers, and recon teams, and they were likely all dead. It would be a career ending mission even if it had been sanctioned by the Eclipse. The fact that it was a personal mission for her meant she would be hunted for the rest of her days.

It would all be worth it if the bitches died. No one killed her sister and got away with it. No one. Her biotics flared again.

Just then she was grabbed around the waist from behind.

00000000

Kasumi grabbed the asari around the waist and spun her around, pulling her into and embrace. She used the first name that came to mind.

"Liara, Darling! Don't think you're getting away without dancing with me!" She held the asari tight. Biotics were glowing in the asari's eyes, matching the anger within.

"What?!" The asari said. "I don't know you!" She tried to pull away as Kasumi dragged her away from Shepard's table.

"How can you say that? After all the good times we've had." Kasumi had the biggest smile she could muster plastered on her face.

"Let me go!" The asari said before reaching back to find that Thane had removed her weapon. Kasumi hoped they could get her away from people before she tried her biotics. The instantaneous flare told her they were wrong. Kasumi looked directly into biotic death. She held her breath, not knowing what would happen.

Thane ended it with a quick snap of the asari's neck. Kasumi held the captain up for a moment before Thane could slip under one of her arms. Kasumi slipped under the other arm and they carried her to an empty booth. "Too much to drink, Liara? Let's get you sitting down." Kasumi said a little too loudly. They sat her down gently, and Thane said a prayer for her. They put her in a fairly plausible pose, and walked towards the exit.

"Grunt, let's get out of here. We'll need to let Bailey know where we put all the bodies. We wouldn't want them to find them from the smell."

00000000

Miranda was waiting for drinks at the bar. Samantha had her feeling very good. Miranda had attempted to teach her to dance, and though Miranda had to try not to laugh at her, it was endearing to see her try. Sam had been quite good at slow dancing. Miranda didn't want to let go, but it was her turn to get more drinks. Her guard was down far enough that she didn't notice the inevitable until it was upon her.

A hand slid down her back and grabbed her ass. "Hey sweetheart, looks you're in need of a man." The coldness returned to her chest and she turned to face the offending male human, pushing his hand away in the process.

"Go away." She laid a glare with knives on the ugly barfly. Just another loser looking for anyone drunk enough to join him for drinks.

"You don't know what you're missing, baby." He gave her a grin missing a few teeth. Miranda rolled her eyes. He attempted to grab her again, but Miranda stepped back.

"Hey!" They both turned. "Get away from her, now!" Miranda leaned back against the bar as Sam walked towards them, biotics flaring. The cretin's eyes got large.

"Sam, dear..." Miranda said with a smile just for her. "As I've already mentioned, many times..." She took ahold of the hair at the back of the man's head.

"Ahhhh..." The man said, his neck twisting back.

"I can take care of myself." And with that she smashed the back of his head against the bar. She held her hand out for Sam, whose biotics instantly diminished. They turned back to the bar to get their drinks, leaving a large tip.

00000000

Several hours later Sam and Miranda entered the lounge to find Kasumi and Thane passed out on the couches. When they walked around to look at them they saw Grunt passed out on the floor.

"Crazy fools. Must have spent the entire time drinking." Shepard said. "I hope they're ready to go to Tuchanka tomorrow. I need Grunt at the very least." She draped a blanket over Kasumi.

On the way out Miranda asked. "How drunk do you have to be to sleep in your armor?"

00000000

An hour later Tali quietly slipped onto the couch next to Kasumi, and pulled the blanket over both of them.

Author's note: I apologize for the reduced frequency of my posts. I started a dragon age origins story that takes some of my time. I thank all my readers for sticking with me. Next up, back to the normal storyline.


	18. Chapter 18

Angel

Chapter 18

Bioware owns rights to all characters.

Shepard was fighting her way through the Weyrloc clan on Tuchanka. They were decent fighters, but not nearly good enough to slow down Shepard's crew. The clan had one of Mordin's compatriots held captive, and they would be getting him back. Tuchanka was kind of a hell hole, and Shepard could tell Grunt was less than excited. His first trip had been limited to the Rite of Passage and the landing area. Further exploration of the planet was not showing a good side.

"This is the Krogan home world? I am not impressed. It's no wonder Okeer left."

Mordin was silent except for combat commands. They entered a concrete building before his audible analysis began.

"Smart. Repurposed hospital. Sturdy. Built to last."

Shepard had given him grief about his work extending the genophage project. She wasn't sure how this trip was going to go. She had no problem rescuing his compatriot, but assisting with the genophage was out of the question.

They ran into a few egomaniac krogans belonging to Clan Weyrloc, but they were stupid enough to start spouting platitudes while standing next to a huge vat of explosive liquids. Shepard let Grunt show them the error of their ways.

"Inferior breeding." Grunt said after the smoke cleared.

The next section contained medical laboratory equipment. She studied Mordin during their walk through the hospital. There was ample evidence of the horrors of the genophage; multiple dead female krogan showing no evidence of unwilling participation.

"Dead krogan. Female. Tumors suggest experimentation. No restraint marks. Volunteer. Sterile female willing to risk procedures. Hoped for cure. Pointless. Pointless waste of life." Shepard couldn't read salarian faces well enough to see what he was thinking, but he did seem to soften while studying her.

"I didn't expect to see to disturbed at the sight of a dead krogan." Shepard told him.

Mordin snapped at her unexpectedly. "What? Why? Because of work with genophage? Irrelevant. No causative. Never experimented on live krogan. Never killed with medicine. Her death not my work, only reaction to it. Goal was to stabilize population. Never wanted to see this. Can see it logically...but still unnecessary. Foolish waste of life. Hate to see it." Mordin said, swinging between anger and sadness.

"You didn't expect the krogan to sit back and allow the genophage to continue, did you?" Shepard said.

"I suppose not. Still unpleasant to see." He said. "Rest, young mother. Find your gods. Find someplace better."

"Still think the genophage was a good idea?" Shepard asked.

"We had to implement the genophage. The alternative was uncontained growth and eventual genocide. All studies produced the same result." He said.

"Genophage or genocide? Still think those are the only options? Almost all species have to regulate their populations to some degree. Are you sure the krogans wouldn't figure it out before destroying themselves? Population is not the only military resource. Planetary resources would keep them from spreading too far into the galaxy. The drell proved that." Shepard could have pressed the issue, but she could tell Mordin was thinking it over.

"Pointless interchange. Let's move on." He said.

00000000

At the core of the facility they found Mordin's associate, alive and well.

"Maelon. Alive. Unharmed. No signs of restraint. No signs of torture. Don't understand." Mordin said.

"For such a smart man, professor, you always had trouble seeing evidence that disagrees with your preconceptions. How long will it take you to admit I'm here because I wish to be here?" Maelon asked.

"Maybe the Weyrloc brainwashed or drugged him to keep him under control." Shepard said.

"Unlikely. Pupils normal. Body language consistent with standard metabolic state." Mordin said.

"Please, Professor. You wrote a paper on this. Forced behavior modification always results in mental degradation. Whether from Reaper indoctrination or drugs, test subjects always lose cognitive function." Maelon said with a snarl.

"Not brainwashed or conditioned. Need Maelon at peak capacity for work. Must be alternate source of coercion."

"He wasn't kidnapped. He came here voluntarily to cure the genophage." Shepard said.

"Impossible. Whole team agreed! Project necessary!" Mordin declared.

"How was I supposed to disagree with the great Doctor Solus? I was your student! I looked up to you!"

"Experiments performed here. Live subjects! Prisoners! Torture and executions. Your doing?" Mordin asked. He was getting agitated.

"We've already got the blood of millions on our hands, doctor. If it takes a bit more to put things right, I can deal with that. We committed cultural genocide! Nothing I do will ever be justified! The experiments are monstrous...because I was taught to be a monster. You taught me that the end justified the means. I will undo what we did, Professor. The only way I know how." Maelon told them.

"Maelon clearly doesn't need rescuing. What do you want to do?" Shepard asked Mordin.

"Have to end this." Mordin said.

"You can't face the truth, can you? Can't admit that your brilliant mind led you to commit an atrocity!" Maelon said before pulling out a gun and quickly shifting between them. Mordin took advantage of his former student's frightened state to duck under the pistol and slam Maelon against the wall. Maelon's pistol was dropped in the confusion.

"Unacceptable experiments. Unacceptable goals. Won't change. No choice. Have to kill you." Mordin said, his pistol held against Maelon's face.

"Wait. You don't need to do this, Mordin. You're not a murderer." Shepard interrupted him.

"No. Not a murderer. Thank you, Shepard." Mordin said putting his weapon away. "Finished, Maelon. Get out. No Weyrloc left. Project over."

"You heard the Professor, Maelon. Get out, now." Shepard said to the wayward pupil.

"Where am I supposed to go, Professor?" He asked.

"Don't care. Try Omega. Can always use another clinic." He told him. They left Maelon standing in the empty facility.

Back in the shuttle, Mordin stared at the wall for a long time. "Apologies, Commander. Misunderstood mission parameters. No kidnapping. My mistake. Thank you."

"You're welcome, Mordin." Shepard left it at that. She had said her piece about the genophage. She would let him mull it over. Mordin kept Maelon's data with Shepard's warning. He should only use it for a good cause. Grunt gave Mordin a look while he was sifting through the data, but didn't say anything.

00000000

The Hugo Gernsback was a total loss. The number of dead must be in the hundreds. The beacon led them to the ship, which was smashed, but there were some very unusual occurrences outside of that tragedy. The beacon had been functional long before it had been activated, at the command of acting Captain Taylor, Jacob's father.

Shepard initially felt sadness at seeing the downed ship, but it quickly turned to anger as she found mounting evidence of heinous acts within logs and vids. She worked hard to focus her anger against Jacob's father, not Jacob. His manner showed he held the same feelings about the acts committed.

The ship crash-landed on this jungle planet only to find the Captain dead, leaving Jacob's father to lead them. The local flora was edible, but had the side effect of lost cognitive function. Showing his lack of morals, Jacob's father limited the ship's stored food for a select group of male officers, leaving all others to degenerate into little more than children. The fact that he let the ship's female doctor deteriorate showed that he was more interested in living his male fantasy than doing what was best for his crew. Shepard could tell Jacob was getting increasingly angry as they made their way through the camp. Garrus was obviously disgusted as well.

First they had to kill several humans that had reverted into primitive hunters with barely enough mental function to fight. They didn't last long. Now they were fighting through a gauntlet of mechs, working towards the acting captain.

"Heavy mech, Shepard!" Garrus yelled out.

"And a bunch of the ship's officers!" Jacob added. "I guess they don't want their fantasy life to go public!"

"Garrus, take out the men, Jacob and I will work on the mech." Shepard told them.

"Got it." Garrus said before removing a head.

"I'll keep him distracted and moving, Jacob. You keep in cover and wear his shields down."

"Right." Jacob found a sturdy crate to hide behind and started pelting the big thing's shields.

There were several temporary walls set up that Shepard moved between. Of course every time she stopped to recharge her shields the walls were knocked down. She needed to find more sturdy hiding spots. It looked like most of them were occupied by the crazy officers. Shepard kept moving around the huge mech, taking shots at it often enough to maintain its attention. One more shot and the mech let loose a rocket. Shepard dodged it and took off towards the nearest officer. He didn't see her until it was too late. She used her biotics to fling him into another officer, sliding into cover behind a crate. She took them down with a few warps and shotgun blasts.

Turning around she realized the mech was right in front of her. She barely ducked under a rocket as it fired at her. The rocket blew up right behind her, throwing her over the crate and right at the feet of the mech.

"Shepard!" Jacob yelled, throwing a warp at the mech, in an attempt to distract it. It did not work. The mech raised its leg to smash it down on Shepard. She scrambled crablike away from the mech. _Not fast enough!_

Just then the mech went limp.

"She going to blow!" Jacob yelled. Shepard jumped back over the crate to escape the blast. The impact still threw her several meters.

The rest of the officers were down. Shepard looked around at the crater where the mech blew.

"What happened?" She asked.

"You owe me again, Shepard." Garrus said with a grin, walking up with his sniper rifle. He reached down and took her hand, pulling her to her feet. "I got a good shot at the back of his head. Jacob had his shield worn down, so one shot did the trick."

"Thanks again, Garrus, and you too Jacob." Shepard said. She turned towards a set of large doors, one which was open. Captain Taylor was saying something about a mutiny and the beacon, but they'd already found evidence to the contrary. "Jacob, I hope you don't mind, but I'm going to hit your father. This is sick."

"He's got it coming, setting himself up as king with his own personal harem. This thing is not my father." Jacob told her. They finally walked up to the man himself. He was standing in the middle of a platform on the edge of a cliff. _Perched on high like a sultan in ancient Asia._

"You're here! I knew a real squad would blow through just fine..." He stopped as Shepard walked towards him with more speed than expected. Without saying a thing she stepped up to him and decked him.

"Bastard!" She snarled down at him as he rubbed his jaw. She turned away and walked off, afraid to do any more.

"Who the hell are you?" He demanded, watching her stalk off. He pulled himself to his feet.

"Commander Shepard of the Normandy. I believe you are acquainted with Mr. Taylor." She said from the edge of the platform, glaring at him.

"Taylor? Jacob? No, not Jacob." He said, looking to Jacob for the first time.

"Why not Jacob? Would ten years of this look better to anyone else in the galaxy?" Jacob demanded.

"You have to understand. This isn't me. The realities of command, they change you. I wasn't ready for that. I made sure you were taught right, before I left. I had hoped to leave it at that." The elder Taylor said.

"It's up to you, Jacob. Take him back to sit in a cell or leave him in the hell he created?" Shepard asked.

"He's not worth the fuel to haul him out, or the air he's breathing. He's damned lucky I don't even think he's worth pulling the trigger. I don't know who you are. Because you're not any father I remember."

"Maybe we go arrange pickup for the rest of the survivors while the acting captain deals with the hole we punched through his mechs." Shepard said.

"Now wait. I'm supposed to get rescued. The crazy ones, you don't know what they'll do to me." Jacob's father said.

"We can guess." Garrus said, turning to walk away. They returned to the ship.

00000000

Miranda was starting to get annoyed at Samantha. Not at how she treated her, or anything about their relationship. She was definitely happy about all their personal...contact. Sam was a wonder in bed. Miranda went to sleep every night fully satisfied, and woke to even more joy, if desired. No, her only trouble was that she suspected Samantha was keeping her off missions because she was afraid she would get hurt. Now Sam was on Omega with Samara and Thane running down an Ardat-Yakshi, and Miranda was probably the only person on board who had done any research on them other than Samara. She sat in her office staring out the window, wondering how to broach the subject with Sam.

"Miranda, Shepard needs you. She's in her cabin." Thane announced through her comm link.

"For what? What happened?" Miranda asked while getting up.

"The Ardat-Yakshi got in her head, and did something to her. Samara isn't sure what, but she told me the Ardat-Yakshi can manipulate your mind to convince you the exact opposite from reality, if they wish. Samara apologizes for not getting to her sooner." _Which would explain why Sam went to her cabin instead of coming here. _Sam had been living in Miranda's room for the last four days.

"Great. Anything I should know, Thane?"

"Shepard seems very confused, like her reality has been altered. She remembered that I had a son, but not that my wife is dead. Please help her. We can't afford to lose her."

"I brought her back from the dead, Thane. I think I know what is at stake here." Miranda said while stepping onto the elevator.

"So you do, Miranda. Good luck." Thane cut the connection.

Miranda unconsciously smoothed down her outfit, then flinched. She was wearing the new black skintight bodysuit Sam gave her, there was nothing to smooth down.

Sam's cabin was dim when she arrived. Miranda walked slowly in. "Sam?"

"Commander Shepard?" Sam said from the corner of the room, behind the bed. There was an authoritative tone to her voice. It was very like when they were still fighting for dominance.

"Sam? Are you ok?" Miranda asked, shifting around to stand in front of her.

"I am your Commander, XO, you will refer to me as such." Samantha said.

"Samantha, I believe we're well beyond that in our relationship. What's wrong?" Miranda asked her. Her heart was dropping, but she had to stay firm to overcome the contradiction within Sam's brain. Her memory wasn't completely wiped. Miranda stopped several meters away from Sam, giving her space.

"I...don't know what you're talking about. You're my XO, you b-brought me back to life...n-nothing...more." Sam was stuttering slightly.

Miranda could tell something was shifting. "You know that's not true. You have become much more than my commander, and I hope I am much more than your XO." She knew she was putting her heart out on her sleeve, but she couldn't bear to go back to her life before. Her chest was tight.

"You're just my...XO...m-my squad mate...my..." Samantha was having trouble completing sentences. Miranda hoped she wasn't pushing too hard.

"Angel?" Miranda held her breath. Sam didn't say anything for a long time.

"A-angel? Angel? Why...why would I call you Angel?" Miranda wished she could see Sam's face clearly.

"You said it was because I brought you back to life." Miranda paused, remembering the moment, bringing wetness to her eyes. "And I told you that you could, but anyone else calling me that would be kicked through a wall." The situation was really starting to get to her. She didn't know what she would do if she couldn't get Samantha back. She waited for an interminable amount of time.

"Angel?" Sam asked, still questioning her.

"Please come back to me, Sam." Miranda pleaded with raw hurt in her voice. After all she'd gone through to release the shell she built around herself, she didn't know what rebuilding it would do to her. "Please..." She walked towards Sam and kneeled in front of her, taking Sam's hands into her own. Sam continued her silence. Now that Miranda could see her face, she could see the conflict. Her eyes were shifting from Miranda to their hands and her mouth was standing open.

"I don't..." Sam began. Miranda pulled out all the stops, leaned forward and kissed her on the lips. Sam began to pull away, then something clicked. She pushed into Miranda and her arms quickly wrapped around her. They kissed passionately for a minute, then Sam pulled her into a tight hug. "Oh Miranda! I don't know what happened. She made me think...that you didn't really love me. That you were just using me to get ahead."

"Samantha!" Miranda hugged her back, kissing her neck, tears of joy dripping from her eyes. "I thought I'd lost you."

"It was terrible! All my good memories about you were gone. It took searching for that specific Angel memory to unlock what she blocked. Oh, Miranda. It's a good thing Samara arrived when she did. I don't want to think about what might have happened if that monster had more time."

"Take me with you, next time. I can't go back to the way things were." Miranda said, inhaling deeply in her hair. "And about me using you to get ahead...no offense, but you have been absolutely miserable for my career."

Sam laughed. "Yes, I guess that wasn't a very good excuse. I shouldn't have fallen for that."

Miranda pulled back and gave her another soft kiss. Looking deeply into her eyes. Then she stood up, and held out her hand. "Come on, you could use a shower."

Sam took her hand, and allowed herself to be pulled up. Miranda started undoing the buttons on Samantha's shirt.

"There are still too many buttons on this shirt. I'm going to burn it as soon as I get it off you." Sam gave her a loving smile. Miranda threw it across the room as soon as it was off. Then she pulled off Sam's bra, pants, and boy shorts, sliding her hands over her body in appreciation. Then she stepped back and unzipped her suit, peeling it off her body enticingly. She saw Sam's delight when she revealed no underclothes underneath. She breathlessly allowed Sam to pull her suit over her hips and down her legs. Miranda pulled her up when Sam kissed her clit and teased her with her tongue.

"Sam, my love, hold that off or we won't make it to the shower." She told Samantha. She took her hand and dragged her towards the shower.

00000000

Kasumi was headed down in the elevator. She needed to let everyone know their Commander was back. When Thane told her about Shepard's personality shift after the Ardat-Yakshi she was greatly concerned. It sounded like she was a completely different person. She had followed Miranda up to Shepard's, and listened in on Miranda as she pulled Shepard out of the warped reality she had been thrust into. Miranda handled her masterfully. Kasumi was proud of the former ice queen. She let Shepard know about specific events, and stood firm in calling her by her informal name. Kasumi fought back tears until Shepard woke up, then couldn't hold them back as Shep rejoined reality. She left right before the nakedness began. _Time to let the guys know._ Tali, Thane, Garrus, Grunt, and even Jack were waiting in the lounge for information about their Commander.


	19. Chapter 19

Angel

Chapter 18

Bioware owns rights to all characters.

Shepard woke to find herself alone, again. _Add to list to discuss with Miranda: morning sex is great. _She got up and dressed.

"Shepard, the Illusive man has once again demanded you pick up the Reaper IFF." EDI let her know. _Again._

"Thanks, EDI. Got anything I don't already know?"

"Tali would like to speak with you." EDI let her know.

_Why didn't she stop by? She has access. _ "Thanks, EDI."

00000000

"Shepard, I'm glad you stopped by. I may need your help." Tali looked anxious.

"Anything Tali. Let me know what you need."

"I just received word from the Migrant Fleet. The Admiralty Board has accused me of treason." Tali paused.

"What!?" Shepard was sure she hadn't heard correctly.

"The Admiralty Board accused me of treason." Tali repeated.

"But that's insane." Shepard told her.

"I'm scared, Shepard." Shepard pulled her into a hug.

"Whoa Tali, it will be alright. Nobody who knows you could believe you'd betray your people." Shepard pulled back and held Tali's chin up.

"I don't know. They don't lay charges like this unless the evidence seems absolute. But thanks. I appreciate your faith in me."

"Is it because you're working with Cerberus?" Shepard shuddered to think Tali was accused of treason because of her.

"I'm not working with Cerberus. I'm working with you. And I got leave to serve on the Normandy again." Tali was adamant. "I have no idea what they are accusing me of. You think I would remember if I betrayed the fleet!"

"What happens when a quarian is accused of treason?"

"There's a hearing, with members of the Admiralty board acting as judges. My father is on the board. He'll have to recuse himself from judgement. I can't imagine what he's thinking right now. The punishment for treason is exile. If I'm convicted I can never go back."

"Ok. Let's head to the Flotilla."

As they hopped on the elevator Shepard got on her Comm link. "Joker, head to the Flotilla."

"Aye, Aye. Commander. Be there in a couple hours."

She put a call into Garrus. "Want to see the Flotilla, Garrus?"

"Sure, what's the occasion?" Garrus answered.

"They're trying to exile Tali, feel like coming?"

"That's insane! What for?" Garrus returned.

"Treason, but that's all the information I have."

"That's even more insane! I'm coming!"

"Thought so. Be ready when we get there." Shepard told him.

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"How dare you spring this on Tali?!" Shepard yelled. "You charge her with treason without the common decency to let her know her father is probably dead!"

Tali was standing in stunned silence. First, the Admiralty board stripped her of status from the Migrant Fleet, switching her ship designation from "vas Neema" to "vas Normandy." Second, her father's laboratory vessel had been siezed by geth, leaving him likely deceased. Third, the very treason charges she was facing were for sending her father the geth pieces that supposedly took over his ship. _Sending active geth to a quarian ship! It wasn't possible! All the units I sent were completely benign._ She even skipped over some good units because they might contain viable geth programs. She guessed one or more of the Admirals had something personal against her or her father.

Her grief caused her to lose focus. _How could they? Auntie Raan didn't even let me know when I arrived. No message or anything._ _Can't think about father now. Time for that will come. _She went numb. She would be strong for father, grieve later, outside this assembly. She was glad Garrus and Shepard were with her.

"No one who knows Tali would make such claims! She's never been anything but loyal to the Migrant fleet." Shepard continued. Tali surged with pride at her Commander. She didn't realize the implications when they changed her ship designation, but Shepard had become her defense advocate. She couldn't think of anyone she'd rather have on her side, though she hoped quarian legal details didn't take them by surprise. "We are going to the Alarei, and we're going to recover the ship."

"Quarian strike teams have attempted to retake the Alarei, so far without success." Shala'Raan told the assembly.

Admiral Koris, the most antagonistic judge, spoke up, "The safest course would be to simply destroy the ship, but if you are looking for an honorable death instead of exile..."

"I'm looking for my father, you bosh'tet!" Tali yelled at him.

"We are going to retake the Alarei." Shepard said decisively. "And we're going to search for the crew."

"I don't think..." Admiral Koris began.

Shala'Raan interrupted, "Retaking the Alarei is the best option, but it will be very dangerous. Are you sure..."

"We are going to retake the Alarei." Shepard reiterated. Tali could not believe the resolve of her commander.

"Very well. This hearing is suspended until you return." Shala'Raan ended the hearing against the protests of Admiral Koris.

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Tali's world crashed around her. Her father lay dead on the floor, and the treasonous evidence was overwhelming. There were only a few more active geth to destroy, but it didn't matter. Her father was a traitor of the fleet, and he did it all for her. All so they could have a house on the home world. He assembled the geth parts she sent and activated them within a network. Eventually one of them was able to escape the fail safes and create more geth, seizing the ship in time.

She kneeled on the floor next to the body and listened to his final message. It told them how to remove the geth from the ship, and why he committed treason. All so he could give Tali a house on the homeworld. Shepard and Garrus didn't say anything, but she could hear it in the silence. They knew. Her father was a traitor to the fleet.

"I never wanted this, father. Not this..." Tali struggled against the tears, unable to stop the flow.

"Tali..." Shepard took one of her arms and pulled her into an embrace. "Everything is going to be all right, I promise."

"I know, I just...I didn't want this. I dreamed about a house on the home world. He always told me he would get me a house on the home world, but I really just wanted to spend time with him. He was always away...I'm sorry." Tali said over Shepard's shoulder. Garrus shifted uncomfortably.

Shepard pulled back and looked Tali in the face. "It's ok, Tali. I'm here for you. We're here for you." She nodded towards Garrus.

"I know, thank you. I just...I can't let the truth here come to light. I can't let my father take the blame for this..."

"Tali, they'll exile you unless we present this evidence. We can't let that happen." Shepard told her.

"No!" Tali exclaimed, grabbing Shepard's hands. "Please, Shepard! This will ruin my father's reputation. Everything he did to help the quarian people will be forgotten. I don't care if they exile me."

"...Are you sure, Tali?" Shepard looked carefully at her. "Being exiled is a pretty big deal. Is your father's reputation worth that much? Is this what he would want?"

"Yes...it is worth that much, and I don't care what he wanted. He left me." Tali said firmly.

"Ok, Tali. It's your decision." Shepard said.

"We'll follow your wishes, Tali." Garrus told her.

"Let's finish this." Tali said, and they headed to the control room.

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They routed the audio from the assembly into the rest of the quarian ship, so after the shuttle landed they knew the trial had restarted.

"Shepard has obviously failed. We should restart the hearing." Admiral Koris stated.

"Impatient?" Shepard said as they jogged towards the assembly.

"They still assume the geth are unstoppable, even with our previous record." Garrus said before they entered.

"Sorry we're late." Tali said as they pushed through the crowd.

"I didn't realize you were this eager to exile one of your own..." Shepard said loudly as they faced the admirals.

"We apologize, Shepard. Your success in taking back the Alarei is...very unexpected." Admiral Gerrel told them.

"But also very welcome." Shala'Raan added.

"Did you find anything on the Alarei that could clarify what happened there?" Admiral Gerrel asked.

Shepard and Tali shared a long look. Tali pleaded with her eyes, though she knew they were barely visible through her visor. Shepard stepped forward to address the Assembly.

"Tali helped me defeat Saren and the geth at the Citadel. That should be all the evidence you need." Shepard started. One of the Admirals tried to interrupt. She shut them down. "That you could possibly believe she would send active geth to the fleet either intentionally or on accident says more about your political focus than the purpose of this trial. You obviously didn't spend any time researching your defendant at all, you just decided to use this tragedy for your own goals. You should be mourning the dead, not exiling your heros. Tali'Zorah saved the Citadel. She saved the Alarei. She showed the other races the value of the quarian people."

Shepard paused. The hall was silent. Tali once again felt overwhelming pride for her Commander. No one stood up for her the way Shepard did.

"No one who knows Tali could even imagine her sending active geth to the fleet. You should be begging her to return to the fleet after this stunt! Go ahead and exile her. You don't deserve her." Shepard stood back, and glared at the Admirals. Tali thought she was daring them to exile her, and a glance at the crowd made it look like a riot might ensue if they did.

The Admirals entered their vote, and Shala'Raan stepped forward. "Tali'Zorah vas Normandy, in light of your history and the lack of evidence against you, all charges have been dropped. This hearing is concluded. Go in peace, Tali'Zorah vas Normandy. Keelah se'lai." Relief flooded Tali, quickly followed by grief. She was not an exile, thanks to Shepard, but her father was still dead. She turned to leave, faltering slightly.

"Garrus." Shepard said, as she took Tali's arm. Garrus quickly moved to her side.

"No. I'll be alright." Tali felt it important that she walk out of the assembly without assistance. She needed to be strong, for her father. She would grieve later. She pulled her arm gently away from Shepard. Shepard let go slowly.

"Do you want to talk to anyone before we leave?" Shepard asked.

"No..." Tali said. She should talk to Auntie Raan, and maybe Reegar, but she didn't think she could get through the conversation without breaking down.

Shepard steered her to the doorway back to the Normandy.

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"To the fallen!" Shepard raised her glass towards the ceiling. Her toast was duplicated across the bar, slightly slurred responses coming from Garrus and Thane.

Kasumi looked down the bar at the assembled group. Shepard and Garrus were on either side of Tali, doing their best to console her. Thane was sitting on the other side of Shepard. Grunt and Jack were on the other side of Garrus, though it appeared they were only there to drink. Kasumi was doing her best to help Tali from the other side of the bar, though keeping Garrus and Grunt's glasses full was a constant battle.

Shep was getting a glazed look, so Kasumi sent a quick message.

"Tali, you'll find a way." Shep was saying. "You're not the kind to fold in on yourself."

"Shep's right..." Garrus added slowly. Kasumi could tell he was concentrating to avoid slurring. "You're going to be...fine."

"I still can't believe my father would do what he did..." Tali told them through tears. Shep was holding her close. "He knew the danger..." She had been crying for a while now. Kasumi thought she was handling it better than she had handled Keiji. She hadn't spoken to anyone for a week. Years later she realized it was the worst thing she could have done. After some time she talked it through with a group of friends, and she was finally able to let go. The final release came when Shepard got back Keiji's grey box. Now Kasumi was going to be there for Tali, like Shepard was for her.

Miranda came in wearing a very short chemise. Her eyes grew wide when she saw how many other people were in the lounge. _Oops, forgot to mention Shep wasn't alone in here. _Kasumi gave her a big smile. Miranda self consciously pulled at the hem of her chemise while glaring at Kasumi. Then she walked over to Shepard.

"Sam, it's time to go to bed." Miranda wrapped an arm around Shepard.

Shepard shifted her focus to Miranda. "But Tali needs me..." Then she noticed Miranda's outfit.

"We'll take care of Tali, Shep, you go ahead. You've got a derelict reaper to infiltrate tomorrow. We need you at your best." Kasumi told her while pulling away her glass. She looked at Miranda with a smile. "Try to get some rest..."

Miranda pulled Shepard out of her chair with little resistance. Stopping briefly as Shepard gave Tali a hug.

"Call me any time, Tali." Shepard told her.

"I'll be fine, Shepard. Garrus and Kasumi are here." She paused. "I don't think I'll be up for the derelict."

"No problem, Tali. We'll talk more tomorrow." Miranda dragged Shepard out of the lounge.

Kasumi put a large bottle of turian whiskey and two shot glasses in front of Grunt and Jack telling them; "Use your imagination."

"My condolences, Tali." Thane said, getting up from the bar.

"Thank you, Thane." Tali told him.

"Thanks for coming, Thane." Kasumi told him as he exited the lounge. She couldn't be sure if he was dwelling on his wife, but he hadn't spoken more than five words his entire time in the lounge. She would have to look in on him tomorrow.

Kasumi filled up Garrus and Tali's glass, then poured one for herself before walking around to take Shepard's seat. Filling Shepard's spot in the conversation.

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Miranda pushed Samantha onto her bed and straddled her. She pushed Sam's hand away when she tried to pull the strap off her shoulder.

"Sam I know you are a little drunk, but I need you to pay attention." Miranda looked down at Sam, resisting the urge to rub against her with some effort.

"What do you need?" Sam asked, her current position under Miranda and her tipsy state was making it hard to concentrate.

"I am under the impression that you are keeping me from missions to keep me safe."

Sam snapped to attention. "That's not tr..."

Miranda interrupted her. "So I'm coming with you on your mission to collect the reaper IFF." Miranda started unbuttoning Sam's shirt.

"Umm..." Sam addled mind was trying to connect the conversation with Miranda's ministrations. Miranda leaned down and kissed her. "But..."

"No buts, Sam. I'm going." Miranda nibbled on her ear.

"You are...infuriatingly good at... manipulating me. Fine, you are on the team." Sam was breathing hard as Miranda pulled her shirt out of the way. She finally let Sam pull her chemise over her head.

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"Now Tali, your father loved you. He might have been hopeless when it came to showing that love, but he did." Tali looked at Kasumi with sad eyes. She pulled Tali's head to her shoulder. "I know. He's gone, and it hurts. I thought my life was over when Keiji died, but it was not. You saved his reputation, you have his memories, you've honored his memory more than he could imagine. There's nothing more he could ask of you."

"Thank you, Kasumi." Tali hugged her tightly.

"We are here for you, if you need us." Kasumi got off her bar stool. "Come on Tali, let's get to bed."

"Ummm, Kasumi. That sounded like you were asking me to join you in bed."

"No, that was me allowing you to join me in sleeping. You shouldn't be alone tonight, Shep is busy, and Garrus is likely to get a little handsy. I have no choice." Kasumi told her. "Night, Garrus." She propelled him towards the door.

"Good night, Tali. Kasumi." Garrus left the lounge, staggering a little.

"Thank you, Kasumi." Tali said once Garrus had gone.

"At least this way I don't have to listen to your pathetic attempt at sneaking into bed. I mean really, You sound like a herd of elephants..."

"Kasumi?" Tali started. "What are elephants?"


	20. Chapter 20

Angel

Chapter 20

Bioware owns rights to all characters.

The Reaper derelict was a mess. The Illusive Man gave them the coordinates to a supposedly dead Reaper to find a Reaper IFF that would allow them access to the Omega 4 relay. Unfortunately the Reaper had put up kinetic barriers after they got in, so they would have to find the Reaper IFF, destroy the core, then get off the ship before it impacted with the atmosphere.

From the audio and video on terminals throughout the ship it sounded like everyone started going insane shortly after arrival. No footage was found of any attack. The ship itself was dark, with lighting in the sections built by Cerberus, and sparse lighting added to the rest of the ship. Other than the living quarters built near the entrance the Reaper was filled with metal grate walkways stacked with crates, workstations, and large tanks.

It was quickly apparent they wouldn't be finding any live humans; they encountered husks shortly after arriving. The husks pulled themselves onto the grating and attacked with their usual moans and grunts. Miranda was pleasantly surprised to see how much Samantha's shockwave had improved. With one gesture she sent forth enough power to send multiple husks flying off the grating and smashing into walls. After just a few attacks Miranda and Mordin decided hanging back beside Sam was the easiest strategy. The few husks to make it past her attack were quickly dispatched with pistols.

The evidence of obvious mental breakdown in the video feeds provided more fuel to the fire growing within Miranda's chest. The Illusive Man couldn't have missed it. He had to intentionally ignore the breakdown to allow the workers to stay. To what end? Did he want the Reaper fully stocked for weapon tests? Indoctrination studies? Why sacrifice competent scientists for this? It was brutal and totally without conscious. How did this further humanity? The silence from Mordin and Sam showed they were thinking similar dark thoughts.

Miranda would be sending her resignation as soon as this mission was over. The question was where would she go afterwards? There was no doubt Sam would return to the Alliance. She would follow her if possible, but there was almost no chance the Alliance would let her join, even with Sam's recommendation. It was tempting to find a hidden apartment somewhere and be there for Sam whenever she was on shore leave, but she would need to be mobile. Her father would look for her, as would Cerberus. She still needed to keep track of her sister for the same reasons. That didn't even touch upon the Reaper threat. She had to do something.

Miranda shook her head, returning to focus on the task at hand. _We can worry about afterwards once this task, and mission as a whole, is done._

Two shots rang out and everyone pulled up their weapons. Miranda glanced behind them to see two husks crumple to the ground. They looked at an overhead platform to see a geth holding a sniper rifle.

"Shepard Commander." It said. The geth looked wounded, but was obviously still functional. It nodded to them, then walked out of view.

"That geth helped us, and talks." Samantha said. Miranda knew geth were valuable to Cerberus, but she'd never heard of one that talked before.

"Geth fighting Reapers. Speaking. Unheard of." Mordin added.

Miranda noticed a few more husks pulling themselves onto their platform. "Shepard..." Sam whipped around and let loose a shockwave, throwing the husks against the railing and splitting them in half. A few more scions with attacks very similar to Sam's, and they were staring at the Reaper IFF.

"All that work for this?" Shepard looked at the small device.

"The largest energy signature is in the next room, Shepard." EDI said. "It should be the Reaper core."

"Which we need to take out…" Samantha added.

They entered the room just in time to see the geth, who was doing something at the core terminal, get overwhelmed by several husks. As it fell the squad attacked. They took out the husks in seconds.

"I've got the core." Samantha said, pulling out her particle beam and moving towards the glowing energy source. As they drew close more husks pulled themselves up. "Try to keep them off me." She told her and Mordin. Miranda directed Mordin to one side of Sam and took the other as her own.

The core was located in a room with a long stretch of grating heading straight to the core with two wider sections of grating on each side. The wider sections were a couple steps down from the stretch in the middle. Railings separated each part. The husks were coming from several different areas, so she would have to keep moving to cover the whole area.

Miranda pulled out her pistol. She would have to use it and warp liberally to keep the husks at bay. She took out the two closest before stepping down on the lower platform to get the last husk on her side. A couple shots from her pistol and the last lost its legs.

"Damnit!" Sam said from behind her. Miranda turned to see the Reaper core covered by a shield. She ran up to see if anything could be done to assist. She heard more sounds from behind, but ignored them for the time being.

"Go!" Sam told her. "I think it will reopen." Miranda took a quick glance to check on Mordin. He was holding his own. She turned back to her side to see the husks lining up against her. She switched to her SMG and started spraying. Within a few seconds they were down, but another set of husks were crawling onto the platform. She heard the sound of Sam's particle weapon, so she assumed the core was exposed again.

She switched back to her pistol and started shooting heads. She heard the particle beam stop accompanied by another curse from Sam. The core was covered again. Miranda looked back to see a husk running towards Sam. One had gotten around Mordin.

"Sam!" She yelled out.

Sam quickly turned and put a hand to its chest, stopping it in its tracks. She then backhanded it, tearing its head from its shoulders. The core reopened and Sam turned to blast it again.

Miranda turned to see a husk a few feet from her. It jumped on her, but she was able to wrestle it to the ground, pointing her pistol in its face to end it. She turned back to see another pair of husks heading towards Sam. She moved towards them while throwing a warp. The husk closest crumpled, but the second grabbed Sam the same instant the core was re-shielded. Sam ducked under the attack and flipped the husk over the railing. Then she turned and sent a shockwave towards a pair of husks heading towards Mordin.

"Out of clips." Mordin announced.

"Just a little left on the core..." Sam told them. "We can do this."

Miranda shifted back to her side. Three more husks dragged themselves onto the platform. Shot to head. Warp. Shot to head. Warp. She heard the sound of the particle beam, and shot the last husk. She looked back at Sam to see a husk already on her, with another coming. Sam was still shooting the core, determined to bring it down. Miranda sent a warp and leaped the railing onto the center platform. She smacked the second husk over the railing towards Mordin and sent a second warp at the creature on Sam's back. It crumpled to the floor.

She didn't see the third husk.

Shepard felt the core give way under her assault. She felt the vibrations of the ship stop and turned back. Still turning she heard a clipped scream.

Miranda's shout was cut off way too quickly. Shepard turned to see her crumple to the grating.

"Angel!" One warp and her attacker was pulverized. She ran to Miranda's side and checked her vitals. She was still alive. She used a medi-gel.

Shepard looked up to see several husks fighting Mordin. She threw a shockwave sending them all off the platform. Miranda still hadn't stirred. The ship was starting to shake.

"Must go. Quickly." Mordin said, running to her side.

Shepard took Miranda and threw her over her shoulder. She looked back towards the geth near the core. "Mordin, grab that thing and start running."

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Tali was torn. She was both angry and sad.

Shepard brought a geth on the Normandy, making her upset. Shepard had seen first-hand what happened with the activated geth on her father's vessel, so she knew the danger. _Why would she bring that thing on board? _Mordin had told everyone this geth was different, but Tali was not convinced.

On the other hand, Miranda was hurt, and Shepard was beside herself with worry. Tali understood completely. Shepard had lost so many people she cared about, and she had really opened her heart to Miranda.

The entire crew was outside the medical bay. Dr. Chakwas kicked everyone out after Tali, Kasumi, Thane, Grunt, and Garrus followed Shepard in. Shepard had Miranda in her arms, and though she didn't look bad, she obviously wasn't moving. They had her in the scanner, and Chakwas was doing some detailed analysis on her neck. Shepard was holding her hand and whispering to her.

"Looks like the third and fourth vertebrae." Thane said next to her.

"Tricky area. Paralysis possible. Wouldn't explain loss of consciousness. Unless congruent with blow to back of skull." Mordin added.

Kasumi winced behind her.

"Quiet Mordin." Garrus said.

Dr. Chakwas told Shepard something, then turned off the scanner. Shepard was visibly crying at this point. She continued to crouch next to Miranda, still holding her hand.

"I heard she forced Shepard to take her on this mission." Grunt said.

"Not that we were in any condition to go..." Garrus told him with an elbow to the side.

"No one could have predicted this." Thane said. Tali knew Shepard might have taken a different crew had she not needed consoling the day before. _What if she had been there instead of Mordin? What about Garrus?_

"This is not your fault..." Kasumi spoke quietly into her ear. "Stop thinking it." Kasumi reached around her waist and gave her a squeeze, leaning her head against Tali's briefly.

"I..." Tali said.

"I'm going to find out what's up." Kasumi left her and walked into medical. Dr. Chakwas jerked up to make her leave, saw who it was, and went back to analyzing the scans.

Tali watched as Kasumi hugged Shepard. She then helped Shepard remove her armor, leaving her in a sweaty jumpsuit. She knew better than to ask her to go anywhere to change or shower. Then Kasumi brought her a chair. Leaving soon after.

Everyone looked expectantly at Kasumi when she emerged. She walked directly to Tali. "The fractures to her neck are severe, but they will heal. She also had a large contusion on the back of her head. All the physical wounds are healing or healed. Doc doesn't think she's paralyzed, but she is in some kind of coma. There's no way of knowing when she will wake up."

"Oh, no. Poor Shepard." Tali said.

"You can go see her, but I wouldn't berate her about the geth just yet." Kasumi told her with a smirk.

"What kind of bosh'tet do you think I am?" Tali said before pushing her way to the door.

"Everyone can go in one at a time." Kasumi said to the rest of the group. "Garrus is next."

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Shepard knew she shouldn't just sit around waiting for Miranda to wake up, but she really wanted to be the first person she saw when she woke. She was still wearing the jumpsuit she normally wore under her armor, but couldn't bring herself to go change. They had removed Miranda's suit and put her in a standard hospital gown. Anyone else on that bed and Miranda would have told her to continue the mission. Doc was taking good care of her. All her physical wounds were healed. They just had to wait until she woke up.

Here it was, the middle of the night, and she wouldn't even let herself go to sleep. She could imagine Miranda reprimanding her already.

_"You won't be any use to her tired and wiped out, Samantha. At this point she'd have to drag you off to a shower, as opposed to the romantic image you have in your head: Her cradled in your arms, staring dreamily up at you as you take her back to your cabin, soft music playing in the background. Just imagine yourself tripping over the threshold, bringing both of you crashing to the floor. Then, slipping and falling as you attempt to tenderly bathe her in the shower. And just as she slips into bed next to you, clothes utterly forgotten, you start snoring. Very romantic."_

Shepard jerked awake.

"Shepard, I will let you know if she wakes up. It could be a while." Dr. Chakwas told her from across the room. "Her vitals are fine."

Shepard sat up and pulled her hand through her hair. "I know doc, I just really want to be there when she wakes up."

"She'll understand if you're not. You're on a very important mission." Chakwas told her.

"I know, she'd be the first to remind me of that." Shepard said. Chakwas smiled at her. "Alright...alright." Shepard got up, then leaned down and gave Miranda a kiss before burying her face in her neck. "Miss you, Angel."

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The next morning Shepard awoke and made a decision. It was time to wake the geth and see what it had to say.

She went to the medical center, paid her proper respects to Miranda enthusiastically, then went through the back door to EDI's area.

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"We are all geth." The geth, aptly renamed Legion by EDI, told Shepard. It was a baffling situation. There were more than one thousand geth programs running on board Legion, and they were all considered geth. Shepard thought it would be interesting to analyze what qualifies as a geth. _Is sentience required?_ Shepard had met humans who might not officially qualify for sentience.

Legion let Shepard know all geth were not alike. There were the normal geth, which included the programs on his platform, and there were the heretic geth, as it called them. The heretic geth revered the "Old Machines", their name for the Reapers. The normal geth did not. Shepard saw an opportunity with this distinction, and as a result they were on their way to destroy the base of the heretics.

Joker and EDI were holding the Normandy in stasis to integrate the Reaper IFF into their systems, so all the squad members except Miranda were in the shuttle in their final approach to assault the heretic base.

"Shepard Commander, we have discovered an alternative solution to destroying the base." Legion told her as they approached the base.

"What is it?" Shepard asked. Legion's appearance still freaked her out a bit. Her old N7 armor piece was disconcerting, but the gaping hole through his chest was the weirdest.

"Their virus could be repurposed. If released into the station's network, the heretics will be rewritten to accept our truth."

"I see. Isn't that a little bit like brainwashing?" Shepard asked Legion.

"The question is irrelevant. If we do not rewrite them, we destroy them."

"What do you think we should do?" Shepard asked.

"We have not come to a consensus." Legion told her.

"Ok, let me know if you do come to a consensus." Shepard said.

"Shepard, can we be sure they won't come after us even if they are rewritten?" Tali added.

"I'm not sure, Tali, but it is a good sign that this geth is willing to talk to us." Shepard waved her hand towards Legion. "The prospect of the quarians and geth fighting to the death before the Reapers arrive gives me more fear than almost anything."

"But..." Tali paused. "You don't know what it is like to be without a home world." Shepard could feel the confusion coming from Tali, and she felt sorry for putting her in this position.

Shepard recalled Tali's introduction to Legion. She wanted to make sure Tali was going to be able to work with Legion, so she walked him down to engineering to introduce them. Tali pulled a pistol and trained it on Legion. Shepard put herself between them, and took several minutes to talk the weapon out of her hand. After an hour long discussion Tali was at least civil with Legion, but Shepard knew there was a long way to go.

"I know Tali, but by all accounts war will not get you there, either." Shepard took her hand and looked directly into her eyes. "Do you think your chances improve if you find geth willing to negotiate?"

"I don't know, but I know this is making me nervous." Tali told her. Shepard could tell being near Legion was freaking her out, even though he was being perfectly civil. His insistence in calling her a 'Creator' did not help.

"Would it make you feel better to blow up some of the heretic geth? From what Legion tells me we're going to need to smash quite a few before we reach the network hub." Shepard asked her with a smile.

"It might." Tali gave Legion a glance. "I will help you."

"We will prove our loyalty against the heretics with Shepard Commander and the Creator." Legion said. The geth considered all quarians 'Creators'.

"Good Legion." Shepard shook her head. "Thank you, Tali."

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"1.21 pentawatts! Legion, if we get out of this alive I'm going to..." Shepard stopped herself as she remembered Legion's inclination to literally translate everything. No telling what he might do if he actually thought she would kill him. They were sprinting towards the exit to get out of the heretic base. Her decision to rewrite the heretics instead of destroying them meant an electromagnetic pulse of incredible magnitude was being created in mere minutes, and they needed to get the hell off the station. The heretics they met along the way were dealt with quickly, or just ignored. They had enough shield left to take a few shots.

"Shepard Commander. The exit is around the corner ahead." Legion told her. It was disconcerting that his tone was not different than normal, but it made sense that if you didn't need to breathe you wouldn't get out of breath.

They rounded the corner and ran into a geth prime, literally. Shepard felt their shields meet and tried her best to push the beast over with a lunge against its chest. It did not work. The prime smacked her against a wall with a swing of its arm. Tali and Legion were luckier with their approach. Each dove for cover, then hacked a smaller geth behind the prime. Shepard hadn't even seen them yet. The two smaller heretics attacked the prime, distracting it from Shepard, who scrambled for cover.

"Less than a minute left!" She yelled. She threw a warp at the prime as they each brought out their combat drones. A blast rocked their cover as the prime turned and sent a rocket their way. They all pulled out of cover to focus their fire, and Legion took the brunt of its gunfire, losing its shield.

"Get down!" Shepard called out as the prime got ready to fire a rocket.

"Keep firing, Shepard Commander." Legion told her, then stepped up on top of some containers.

"Legion!?" She looked at it in confusion, but then did as he asked. The prime was almost down, but it was going to get the rocket off. She sent a final warp to bring it crashing to the ground, but not before the rocket fired. She watched it in slow motion headed straight to Legion, who spread his arms wide. At the last moment Legion shifted its chest slightly, and the rocket passed through the hole in its chest, harmlessly exploding against the wall behind them.

Shepard was stunned. Without shields the rocket had nothing to hit, so it passed through Legion with no resistance. Both Shepard and Tali were motionless, watching the geth with wide eyes.

"Twenty seconds, Shepard Commander." It told them.

"Shit!" Shepard hopped up and they sprinted to the exit a few feet in front if them.

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"You lost everyone?!" Garrus was yelling at Joker. During their mission to the heretic geth base embedded code in the Reaper IFF caused several things to happen in quick succession. The Normandy lost power to the engines and defenses, then broadcast a signal to draw the collector ship to them. Joker had managed to save the ship by unshackling EDI, who then killed all the collectors on board, but everyone else on the vessel had been taken by the collectors. No one was discussing the unshackled artificial intelligence, but since EDI wasn't venting the air from the ship to kill them all, they had time to discuss the issue later.

"It's not his fault, Garrus." Shepard said from the corner. She was leaning against the wall with her eyes closed. When the call first came from EDI she was shocked, then the ramifications hit her. Miranda was in the medical center, in a coma. She held out a tiny bit of hope that the collectors had missed the comatose form in the med bay, but EDI assured them everyone was gone. Her Angel was gone. Joker was the only survivor.

Everyone was in the briefing room, exploring their options. Shepard had finished her brief discussion with the Illusive Man and called everyone in. TIM had the audacity to tell her that Miranda knew what she had signed up for, it went downhill quickly after that.

Joker was sitting down, trying to look insignificant while Garrus leaned over him. Tali and Kasumi were on each side of Shepard. The rest were surrounding the table.

"The IFF is functional, and we can head through the Omega 4 relay at any time." EDI announced. Shepard's eyes opened. They were red, but held a hopeful glint.

"Is it safe? Garrus asked.

"It's been scrubbed. It's clean." Joker told them.

Shepard pushed away from the wall. "We can go at any time?" She asked. Everyone else came to life.

"Yes, Commander." EDI told her.

"Head to Omega. Now. We're getting our crew back."

"Yes, Commander. Two hours till arrival in the Omega system." EDI told them.

"Shep?" Kasumi called out to her as she walked away. "Are you all right?"

"No." She looked back to Kasumi. "But thanks for asking." She left the room.

"Should we follow her?" Tali asked.

"No, she's going to say goodbye." Kasumi knew Shepard well enough.

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Shepard lay in Miranda's bed, burying her face in the sheets, trying to breathe in every bit of her scent from them. "Please be there, please be alive, please, please, please...Angel." Shepard rolled onto her back, still holding the sheet over her face. "Don't tell me I lost you, please." Tears were coming slowly, but constantly. She thought it was hard when she lost Ashley. Losing someone who you loved from afar was nothing compared to this.

The small, minuscule chance any of the crew were alive, Miranda included, was the only thing keeping Shepard from breaking down completely.


	21. Chapter 21

Angel

Chapter 21

Bioware owns rights to all characters.

"Joker!" Shepard yelled, taking hold of the console and Joker's chair. They passed through the Omega 4 relay to find a wall of wreckage. Former ships that attempted the trip, and failed. There had to be thousands of ships smashed into chunks of space debris, all clustered in one location.

"Hold on!" Joker yelled back. He pulled the Normandy into a steep bank to avoid a huge piece of fuselage. After a couple more sharp turns and a barrel roll of all things, they made their way out of the wreckage.

"Incoming hostiles." EDI announced.

"What? Where?" Shepard asked.

"Behind us, they followed us out of the ship graveyard." Joker told her. "Take them out, EDI." Shepard got a look at one of the hostile ships when they destroyed one. It looked like several fins sticking out of a huge camera lens. When the lens opened its aperture, a powerful beam was released. The ships were having a field day blasting the Normandy's kinetic barriers, leaving heavy damage on all sides of the ship.

After several tense moments they weren't having luck destroying the rest of the attackers, so Joker headed back into the wreckage zone.

"Returning into the debris field is unwise, Jeff." EDI told them.

"We're not going to last much longer out here in the open." Joker told her as he flew through the gauntlet of ship pieces, trying to force the enemy ships into the wreckage.

"They have broken into the cargo bay." EDI announced.

"I'll take care of it." Shepard said, putting her helmet on. "Garrus and Grunt, meet me in the cargo bay. We have an uninvited guest."

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The ship/lens was very hard to damage, and its beam was painful to experience. Since they couldn't lay into it with sustained fire, Shepard decided to take it down with single fire snipers and pistols.

"Grunt, try to distract it. Garrus, pull out the Mantis and keep moving." Shepard pulled out her pistol and started circling the bay. Luckily there were ample crates and equipment to hide behind. She circled constantly, hopping out if cover briefly to catch the ships attention, but not staying still for long. After several minutes of sniper rifle damage the ship/lens exploded, burying them in a pile of crates.

"Commander! Get back up here!" Joker called them back. After a few minutes of forcing their way back through the mess in the cargo bay, Shepard emerged on the bridge. The other ships were scrap in the ship graveyard, thanks to Joker's flying. They were approaching the collector base.

"An old friend." Joker told her. The collector ship was pulling out of the base. The same ship they infiltrated a month ago, the same ship they saw on Horizon, the same ship that sent Shepard to her death more than two years earlier.

"Let's show off the new gun." Shepard said. EDI pulled up a wireframe of the collector ship as it angled to attack the new Normandy. "Hit it right about here." Shepard pointed at a section of the wireframe model.

"You got it, boss." Joker's fingers flew as he arced the Normandy to the side of the collector ship. They main guns fired as the collector ship started powering up its beam weapon. The resulting blast was very satisfying.

"Roll over it to hit the opposite side, right about here." Shepard pointed to another location on the wireframe, then quickly grabbed hold as the collector ship fired its main weapon. Jeff pulled into a steep bank to stay away from the blast.

"Kinetic barriers holding." EDI announced.

"Good thing we upgraded." Joker said, then yelled; "Take this, bitch!" Firing the Normandy main weapon once again.

The resulting blast took the collector ship to pieces, causing the main weapon to release a massive amount of energy. The Normandy jerked with the blow, and started to drift. Joker fought to keep control.

"Controls are unresponsive. EDI?" He said.

"Mass effect core is offline. I'm attempting to bring it back up." EDI told them.

"Everyone hold on! We're going down!" Shepard called through the intercom.

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The Normandy crash landed on the collector base, somehow managing to avoid smashing to pieces. Though it was still powered down, EDI was sure she could get it back online. Shepard had her doubts. Everyone knew this was likely a one way trip.

After detailed study of a scan of the collector base, they decided to split into three teams for their assault. The two main passages could only be opened from the inside, only accessible by a ventilation shaft. They needed a tech expert for that run, so Shepard naturally chose Tali.

"I won't let you down." Tali told her.

"I know, Tali." Shepard gave her a quick smile.

Shepard and two others would run through the passage nearest the shaft. She chose Grunt and Thane to go with her. Grunt clapped Thane on the back so hard Thane was forced to catch himself against the table. Thane turned to give him a quick smile.

A distraction team would traverse the main passage with the rest of her motley crew. "Garrus, you will lead that team."

"You got it." Garrus nodded.

There was no way to tell where any surviving member of the crew might be, so the odds were against stumbling into them. With those grim prospects no one mentioned their lost shipmates, especially Miranda.

Shepard could tell the group needed some kind of pep talk, but she absolutely hated this kind of thing. _Short and sweet, Samantha. _"You are the best the universe has to offer. You know what needs to be done. Think fast and watch each other's back." She paused to look around the room, settling on each face in turn. Shepard wanted to hug each of her friends, but the ensuing tear-fest would unbearable.

She looked out over her team of experts. They pooled their efforts to assist her with the collectors. At the same time she helped each of them with a personal problem requiring her particular talents, except Massani. His glare was palpable. She was sorry, but she didn't have time.

_Time to go. _"Let's blow this station to hell." She told them with conviction.

"Yeah!" Grunt answered, throwing his fist in the air. He strode out of the briefing room dragging Thane with him. Jacob, Massani, Mordin, Legion, Samara, and Jack followed. Tali, Kasumi, and Garrus were delaying.

"My dearest friends. Thank you for this." She paused. "I can't express..." Fighting back even more tears became too much. Tali beat Kasumi to give her a hug.

"We'll get her back, Shepard." Tali told her.

"I can't even think about it..." Shepard said.

"I know." Tali told her, pulling away to allow Kasumi access.

"Time to save the universe again, eh Shep?" Kasumi said after a quick hug.

"Looks that way Kasumi." Shepard said, a smile breaking through the tears.

Garrus grabbed her hand with a firm grip. "Suicide mission number two, Shepard?"

"We seem to be making a habit of it, Garrus." She shook his hand with enthusiasm. Then, surrounded by her best friends, she left to suit up.

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Miranda woke with the worst headache she'd ever experienced, then she made it worse trying to get up. She smacked her head against something. She opened her eyes, which was not only painful, but she couldn't see clearly at all. She blinked in an attempt to clear her vision. Things swam closer to focus, but quickly reverted to a complete fog. While blinking she lifted her hands to feel what was in front of her. There was a sharp pain in the crook of her elbow. She used her other hand to prod the spot. There was dried blood and a tear in her skin. It wasn't large. Possibly caused by a syringe pulled out incorrectly, maybe an IV.

A sharp pain lanced through her skull. She winced and closed her eyes for a minute. She felt what was in front of her. There was a smooth curved surface over her. She explored the limits of the surface with her eyes closed. It covered her completely. She opened her eyes again to see that the cover was transparent, but she could only see a few feet, so she still didn't know where she was.

She tried to recall anything. The last thing she remembered was her, Samantha, and Mordin in the Reaper derelict. She remembered Sam attacking the core, and some flashes of husks, but nothing more. She felt herself. She was not in her suit. It was a simple, loose-fitting outfit. No pockets, went down to about her knees. Hospital gown. She had a tear in the skin on her arm. She was in a hospital...no, they don't put you in an enclosed container in the hospital. She took another glance out the cover. She could see... "No. It can't be." She said out loud. There were more containers across the passage, and she could tell what they were. They were collector pods like they had seen in the collector vessel. "No." Another stab of pain hit above her eyes. She closed her eyes again.

_Alright Miranda. Concentrate. You were in a hospital or medical bay, then you were taken by the collectors. Now you're on their ship._

She looked back across the passage. There were people in the pods. She recognized a few of them. Daniels and Donnelly from engineering. Couple more crew members. They didn't look hurt, but they weren't awake either. The furthest to one side she saw a woman without a Normandy uniform. From one of the colonies perhaps?

_Samantha will be coming. There's no telling when, but she will come for me._

Just then the woman's pod filled with a cloud of something. She woke up and instantly started screaming. The sound was muffled through the pod, but it was still chilling. The woman's skin formed chemical burns, then started sloughing off. In a matter of moments all that was left was a skeleton, which fell to a heap at the bottom of the pod.

_Time to get out of this pod. _Miranda hit the cover with as much force as she could. It didn't budge, but she got another sharp pain in her head for her trouble. After a minute she opened her eyes again. There wasn't enough room in the pod for leverage against the lid.

She pulled at her biotics, and though it hurt a little, the familiar glow made her smile. _Let's see what we can do._ She slammed her biotics against the cover near her hand. The blinding pain made her slump inside the pod, tears pouring out of her clenched eyes.

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"Shepard! It's getting really hot in here!" Tali pleaded with her.

"Damnit!" Shepard cursed.

The ventilation shaft Tali was crawling through had several valves that needed to be opened or Tali would be cooked alive from the contained heat. Shepard had to fight through collectors to reach each valve before it was too late. She warped another collector and moved up to the next cover. There were only a few collectors between her and the switch.

"Assuming direct control."

"Shit!" The damn Harbinger was between her and the switch. "Grunt!"

"Got it!" Grunt ran past her and plowed straight into Harbinger. Thane neutralized the other collectors as Shepard sprinted to the switch, releasing Tali as another group of collectors flew in. Shepard looked for the next switch, but couldn't see it.

She threw a warp around a collector barrier and ran up to club the collector with her pistol.

"Assuming direct control." The Harbinger appeared nearby. Shepard hopped over a barrier and ducked down, reloading her pistol.

"I've reached the next gate, Shepard." Tali announced. Shepard cursed under her breath. She ran to the next barrier, putting herself well ahead of Thane and Grunt, and in the middle of the collectors. She shifted to the end of the barrier for cover, since she had collectors to the front and back. She still couldn't see the next switch.

The collector behind her moved for a clear shot and took out her shield. Shepard warped it and ran straight at it shooting her pistol, jumping into its cover as it fell backward. One of the Harbinger's blasts flew over her head as she reloaded her pistol.

"It's getting hot again, Shepard." Tali told her.

"Face your annihilation." Harbinger approached.

"Thane, the next switch is around the corner." She paused to allow her shield to regenerate. Another Harbinger blast went over her head.

"We'll try to keep these occupied."

Shepard took off around the next corner. Finding the switch, and a pair of collectors. She kept running and plowed through them to hit the switch, turning to finish them off.

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Miranda found the door to her pod loose once the pain eased. Her biotic blast apparently broke the seal, but not the door. She looked at the other pods to see Daniels and Donnelly looking at her expectantly. Apparently her blast woke them up.

She closed her eyes and braced herself for the pain. After a few seconds she let loose another blast at the door. The pain bent her over again. She leaned her head against the door, waiting for the tears to stop.

She had to do this, for these people, for the crew, for Samantha. Sam might not even know where she was, might not even reach her, but she had to be ready, just in case.

After a few minutes she braced herself to try again. Daniels and Donnelly were giving her encouraging looks. Everyone in the pods she could see was looking at her. She put her hand against the door again and closed her eyes. This time the blast blew the door off the pod and flung it across the passage. She fell out of the pod and curled into a ball on the floor, her eyes clenched shut.

After a few minutes the pain leveled off to a dull throb, and she got up to look around. She couldn't use biotics to open up the rest of the pods, she'd smash the door into the occupant. And she couldn't force her way in physically, the pods were very strong. She would find it impossible even if she wasn't physically crippled. She glanced at the door blown off her pod. It was still in one piece. She picked it up. The bottom of the door had a sharp edge.

Miranda walked over to Donnelly's pod and stuck the edge of her door between the pod and his door. She chose Donnelly because she wanted someone strong enough to help open pods in case she collapsed from exhaustion. As she pried the door her headache intensified, but she kept at it. Eventually the door bowed a little bit from the force. A kick from Donnelly and the door flew off.

"Thank you, XO! I thought I was done for." He told her. "Are you all right?" She was hunched over from the pain.

"Don't worry about me. Free the others." She told him before hobbling to Dr. Chakwas' pod.

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Shepard hit the last of the valve switches, releasing Tali to open the door.

"Assuming direct control." One of the collectors she ran past to hit the switch transformed into Harbinger. She shifted behind a nearby barrier and reloaded her pistol. Thane and Grunt were out of sight around a corner.

She felt the heat as Harbinger blasted the other side of her barrier. She peeked over the top and leveled her pistol at him.

"You prolong the inevitable." Harbinger told her as she emptied her clip at him. He exploded into wisps of ash and flame.

"Assuming direct control." Another nearby collector rose with a glow and changed into Harbinger. Shepard shifted to another barrier, and reloaded her clip.

"Thane, Harbinger is being a pain. How long?"

"A few more seconds." Thane replied.

"You will know pain, Shepard." Harbinger said with his haunting voice. It freaked her out when he used her name.

"I can see the door. I'll wait till you get here." Shepard told Thane before another Harbinger blast slammed into her barrier. She hopped up and emptied another clip into him.

"Be there soon." Thane said.

"Assuming direct control." Harbinger was coming much more often now.

Shepard crouched behind another barrier and pulled out her submachine gun. Her pistol was out of ammo. Three more collectors were advancing on her position.

"I know you feel this." Harbinger said before another blast hit the barrier. Shepard rose just enough to pepper him with SMG fire, finishing him off with a warp. The other collectors shot away her shield. She ducked back down and reloaded.

"Assuming direct control." Shepard growled. _Fearless is easy when it's not your body. _She waited for her shield to regenerate.She knew the collectors were right over the barrier from her.

"You are no longer relevant." Harbinger said from very close.

She pulled the particle beam off her back. Her shield came back up and she hopped up. Thane was standing over a dead collector and a cloud of ash was wafting around Grunt as he picked himself off the floor. Shepard gave them a smile, which quickly faded. A large group of collectors were landing behind them.

"The door! Run!" Shepard yelled before turning to go.

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Tali hacked open the door for Garrus' team.

"Back up, Tali!" Garrus yelled. The collectors were close on their heels. Mordin took over to shut the door. Tali ran to the other door.

"The door! Run!" Tali heard Shepard yell. She hacked the door, but nothing happened.

"Something's wrong! It's stuck." She called out. She checked the power source to make sure it was supplied.

"Get this door open now!" Shepard yelled. Tali could hear shots hitting the door. She concluded the issue was mechanical and increased the power to the door to force it open. It slid open a meter. Shepard, Thane, and Grunt ran in. Tali changed the signal to close the door, but it seized again.

"Suppressive fire! Everyone!" Shepard yelled. Tali increased the power again and the door started to move. The Harbinger appeared and held the door open.

"We will end you." He said.

Jack and Shepard warped at the same instant. Harbinger exploded into ash and the door slammed shut.

"Thanks, Tali. I knew you could do it." Shepard told her while catching her breath.

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"Shepard!" Jacob called out. Shepard looked up to see members of the crew coming around a corner. They started shaking everyone's hand. Then she saw her, followed closely by Dr. Chakwas.

"Miranda!" She rushed over and hugged her tightly.

"Miranda saved us all, Commander." Chakwas told her. "She used her biotics to free herself, then freed everyone."

"You came..." Miranda said. Shepard pulled back. Miranda had red eyes and tear streaks covering her dirty face. Her med bay frock was covered in smudges and ripped in several spots. Someone had kindly given her a jacket. Shepard covered her face in kisses.

"She has a minor wound from the IV in her arm, and a bad migraine from her previous injuries. She might have fried her implants breaking out. She needs rest and fluids. I'll check her implants once we're back on the ship." Chakwas told her.

"I thought I'd never see you again, Angel." She gave Miranda another fierce embrace.

"I need a shower." Miranda said into her hair.

Shepard laughed. "After this, Angel, we're all going to need a shower."

Miranda kissed her neck and pulled away. "Time to go back to work, Sam."

"A platform to the central chamber is not far, Shepard." EDI told her. "But the passage is filled with seeker swarms, too many for Mordin's countermeasure. The alternate passage is locked at the far end."

"Biotic field perhaps?" Shepard asked. "Samara?"

"No problem, Shepard, though I can only cover a small team. The rest will need to go through the other passage."

"They can serve as a distraction. Feel up to running the distraction squad, Garrus?"

"It's what I live for, Shepard." He gave her a grin.

"Commander, we're not in any shape to fight, and I doubt this location will stay safe for long." Chakwas added.

Before Shepard could respond Joker cut in. "Commander, we have enough systems on-line to do a pick-up, but we'll need to land back from your position."

"Ok, we need someone to go back with the rest of the crew." Shepard pulled off her submachine gun and handed it to Miranda. She kissed Miranda on the forehead, then looked the crew over. "Kasumi will go back with Miranda and the rest of the crew." Kasumi nodded and motioned Miranda to her.

"Send me the landing coordinates, Joker." Kasumi said.

"Tali and Grunt, you're with me and Samara. Everyone else is with Garrus. Let's do this!" Shepard took one final glance at Miranda then headed to the door.

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Shepard was thankful Samara was so powerful. She didn't think she'd be able hold a barrier this long. Shepard shot a shockwave through a batch of husks, ducking to avoid a scion's similar attack. Tali sent her combat drone to the far side of the scion, giving Shepard a free shot. She sent another shockwave to get rid of the husks, then laid into the scion with her heavy pistol. It went down with some help from Grunt.

"Can't hold much longer, Shepard." Samara told her. Her barrier formed a sphere around them, but it flickered as she talked.

"Ahhh...alright, let's move people!" Shepard said, pulling Tali from behind a barrier. Grunt followed closely behind. A few husks climbed up to meet them, but Shepard's shockwave sent them flying. She kept the group close together, spraying pistol fire in their wake to keep the collectors away. When they reached the door Samara pulled the barrier in quickly, then released it in a huge wave that knocked the swarm and collectors away. They shut the door.

."..epard! We need the door open now!" The radio signal was weak.

"Got it, Garrus!" Shepard told him. Tali rushed to the door and started the hack.

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Shepard approached the main control console of the collector base. Harbinger ashes were still swirling from their most recent attack. Other dead collectors were collapsed around them. The huge human reaper they found with the massive power signature dropped when they destroyed its support structure. Tali and Garrus approached from either side. She started to set up a system overload.

"Back up squad, head back to the Normandy. I'm about to blow this place to hell." She spoke to everyone.

"We have an incoming message from the Illusive Man, Shepard." EDI told her.

Tali patched the projection through her omni-tool. The image of the Illusive Man appeared before them.

"Shepard, you've done the impossible." He told her. Shepard continued to work on the console.

"I didn't do it alone." She said, still not looking at him.

"You did what you had to do, and you acquired the collector base. I'm looking at the schematics EDI uploaded. A timed radiation pulse could kill the remaining collectors, but leave the machinery and technology intact." Shepard stood to face the bastard.

"Even if I trusted you to share the knowledge, which I do not, they were liquefying humans. This place is an abomination. It has to be destroyed." She turned and crouched at the console.

"Don't be short sighted. Our best chance against the reapers is to turn their own weapons against..." Tali cut the signal.

"Shepard said no, bosh'tet!" Tali crouched to help Shepard with the overload. They finished quickly.

"Let's move. We have ten minutes before this place goes supernova." Shepard told them before turning away from the console.

Just then the platform started shaking, throwing the three of them against the barriers.

"What the..." Shepard started, grabbing hold of a barrier. Then the huge head of the human reaper appeared over the edge of the platform. "Oh, hell." It had woken up and pulled itself back to the platforms. "Get to cover!" Shepard pulled her particle beam off her back. The human reaper looked like a metal skeleton with bio mechanical muscles and ports. The eyes were sickly orange orbs of malice. The reaper was missing the lower half of his body, but still towered over them.

Several more collectors appeared, including Harbinger. "Keep them off me!" Shepard yelled, pointing at the collectors. "I've got this bastard!" The reaper seemed to concentrate on Shepard, giving her a close look. Shepard aimed at one eye and let it have it. The processing seemed slow, because the thing didn't react for several seconds. When it did they dove for cover. The Reaper flung its arms up and brought it down on one of the platforms, which dropped and crashed far below them. The Reaper ducked under the platform and Shepard jumped back to a platform further away.

Tali and Garrus were struggling so Shepard helped them out with a few warps until the reaper pulled itself back up. Shepard turned to it and blasted the eyes again. A high pitched whine started increasing in volume and the reaper opened its mouth. _That's ominous._ Shepard jumped back over a barrier. "Get down!" She yelled to her team.

The blast was the loudest Shepard had heard since the attack on the Normandy. She jumped up after the blast and continued shooting the eye. After just a few seconds it swung its arms up and smashed another platform, ducking down again afterward. Shepard looked over to see Garrus on his side a short distance away. Apparently he hadn't gotten out of the way of the blast. Shepard ran over and applied a medi-gel.

"Thanks, Shepard." Garrus pulled himself up. Shepard clapped him on the back before jumping up to another platform.

The reaper pulled itself back up. Shepard aimed and let loose. Once again there was a few second delay, then it screamed and smashed down on the platforms. _We're going to run out of platforms if this goes on much longer. _Luckily the beast looked pretty bad. One of its eyes were gone, and sparks were bleeding out of the eyes and mouth.

The particle beam weapon was empty. "Alright you fucker, die already." Shepard pulled out her pistol and started pounding away at the other eye. The whine started increasing in volume again. "Get down!" She yelled to the others, though she didn't follow suit. She reloaded her pistol and continued shooting, bracing herself for the blast.

The blast knocked her back a bit, but she continued shooting. Her shield was gone. Another shot and she was done for. Suddenly the sound changed. The last eye exploded and the reaper raised its head and screamed. Tali and Garrus jumped onto Shepard's platform and watched the beast thrash. While falling out of sight it whipped out an arm, smashing the remaining platforms away, including theirs. Shepard, Tali, and Garrus grabbed hold. Shepard could do nothing but watch as the ground sped towards them.

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All three of them were sprinting towards the Normandy. Shepard didn't know how long they had before the station annihilated itself. There were hundreds of collectors chasing them out of the base. Tali and Garrus were thankfully fine after their platform crashed. She was holding the rear guard while they ran in front.

Shots fired over her shoulder. She threw a blind shockwave behind her to slow the collectors down. She saw the Normandy drift to a stop ahead of them. Joker couldn't dock the Normandy right up against the base, so there was a gap to jump. Tali looked up and tripped, sprawling to the ground. Shepard picked her up and helped her forward, looking back to provide cover. She shot a collector in the face with her shotgun, then threw it into the air with a shockwave. She switched to her pistol and started shooting heads. Once she had a moment to spare she checked the Normandy. Garrus was pulling Tali into the door.

"Shepard!" Garrus yelled, providing cover fire with his machine gun. Sprinting full out she prepared to jump. One massive leap and she was in the air. She was hit by a collector shot, throwing her angle off_. _She reached as far as she could, trying to grab the bottom edge of the door, but she was too low. She couldn't reach. _I'm not going to make it._

Just as she resigned herself to a second martyrdom, a hand reached down and grabbed her. Shepard looked up into the tear-streaked face of Miranda.

"Reach!" Miranda told her. Shepard stretched her other arm up and grabbed the door frame. Miranda pulled her up and the door closed behind them. "I just couldn't imagine resurrecting you a second time." Miranda gave her a loving smile. Garrus clapped her on the back.

The Normandy managed to get far enough away before the base exploded.

"Welcome back, Commander." Dr. Chakwas told her before turning a stern eye to Miranda. "Get back in that medical center right now! Don't make me use a sedative!" Miranda and Shepard walked back to the med bay hand in hand.


	22. Chapter 22

Angel

Epilogue

Bioware owns rights to all characters.

Shepard watched Miranda approach with two more mimosas, her sultry strut and complete lack of clothing getting her excited again.

"Nudity suits you, my ex-Cerberus operative." She took her flute before Miranda sat on her lap.

"Oriana thinks you're a bad influence on me." Miranda looked fondly at her. "Make me quit my job, make me give up men, drag me off to exotic resorts to have sex day and night..." She leaned down and gave her a kiss.

"I hope you left that last part out." Shepard told her before kissing her again.

"Not entirely...Ori is old enough to know the details." Shepard groaned. "She also said you are the best thing that ever happened to me." Miranda leaned her head against Shepard's.

"Smart girl, your sister." Shepard took a drink.

"She asked when we were having our joining ceremony." Shepard sprayed mimosa all over the floor.

After Miranda stopped laughing, she helped clean up Shepard and the floor. "Oh, Sam. I told her not to hold her breath." She took both their glasses and put them on a table. Then straddled Shepard and looked into her eyes.

"I'm glad Liara found this place for us. It's nice." Shepard said with a smile.

"And private. Privacy is a good thing for the likes of us." Miranda rolled her eyes. "That reporter followed us the entire time we were at the Citadel! Ori said every single kiss made galactic most viewed clip of the day."

"Yes. It's nice to be able to drop our guard, and clothes, at the door." Shepard gave her a big smile. "Liara's just thanking us for making her the Shadow Broker."

"Among other things..."

"I'm sorry you can't come with me on the Normandy." Shepard told her.

"I wish I could, Sam. You know that. But even if the Alliance would allow me to join your crew, I need to look out for my sister. Cerberus and my father are after both of us now."

"I'm going to miss you, Angel." Shepard buried her face in Miranda's chest. She didn't know how she would handle her absence. Kasumi already left, claiming the Alliance would pick her up for previous crimes at their next dock. Shepard suspected Tali would be leaving soon as well. There were disturbing rumors about the quarian fleet.

Miranda held her close. A data pad nearby flashed. She picked it up and showed it to Shepard. She read it and tossed it back to the table. She reached under Miranda and picked her up, holding her against her as she walked to the bed.

"What was it?" Miranda asked, holding onto her.

"Some secret agent in batarian space needs to be rescued. The Normandy will be here in two hours." She lowered Miranda to the bed, kissing her neck before releasing her.

"I thought we had another couple days." Miranda said as Sam kissed down her chest.

"Me too, beautiful. Welcome to life with an Alliance soldier." Shepard lowered herself between Miranda's legs and took a quick lick. Miranda shuddered.

"Oh, no you don't. I am not going to be pleasured alone. Put yourself over me." Miranda demanded.

"As you wish, my love." Shepard rotated her body over Miranda's and returned her tongue to Miranda's clit, licking a small circle around it. She shuddered herself as Miranda drew her to her mouth. She forced herself to continue circling Miranda's clit while sliding a finger along her slit. Miranda arched towards her so Sam plunged the finger in. Miranda was dripping wet. Sam started flicking her clit with her tongue, relishing the twitches coming from Miranda.

She had to stop for a moment, Miranda's tongue was doing something wonderful to her. She enjoyed the sensation for a few seconds before adding a second finger to Miranda's soaking slit. She started plunging them in before returning to suck at Miranda. Miranda moaned into Sam's crotch. Sam couldn't help but smile, nibbling on Miranda gently. Miranda started twitching with an orgasm. Instead of slowing her licking she plunged her tongue deep into Sam, causing her orgasm to start. They both held on tightly, continuing their assault on each other.

Eventually their orgasms slowed to a few finishing twitches.

"Damn, Miranda. You're getting good." Sam rolled off and lay on the bed panting.

"Taught by the best..." Shepard chuckled. Miranda pulled herself up and lay beside Sam, stroking her lazily.

"I'm going to miss you, Sam."

"Me too. Miranda." Sam kissed her on her forehead.

_I already had something worth dying for, Angel. You gave me a reason to live._

Author's note: Short and sweet last chapter. Thanks to all who read and reviewed. The events of Mass Effect 3 will be included in another story, with more Miranda involvement than in the game, and a definite change to the ending, though the plot will stay similar like this story.


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